Ordinary meaning of taxing entries and luxury goods test led to quashing of enhanced sales tax on dhoop and agarbatti.

Where the assessing authority is said to have acted outside the Act, writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is available despite unexhausted appellate and revisional remedies, and the alternative-remedy objection was overruled. In construing the taxing entry, the court read "perfumery" in its ordinary sense and treated dhoop and agarbatti as perfumery, but held that the higher rate applied only to luxury goods. Articles widely used for religious worship and not regarded as necessities in common understanding did not fall within that description, so the reassessment at the enhanced rate was unsustainable and was quashed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the writ petition was barred because the petitioner had not exhausted the statutory appellate and revisional remedies; (ii) Whether dhoop and agarbatti fell within the expression "perfumery" and the category of luxury goods under Entry 16 of Schedule A so as to attract tax at the higher rate.

Issue (i): Whether the writ petition was barred because the petitioner had not exhausted the statutory appellate and revisional remedies.

Analysis: Where the action of the assessing authority is alleged to be outside the provisions of the Act, the existence of statutory remedies does not prevent recourse to writ jurisdiction under Article 226. A demand said to be illegal on the face of the statutory scheme can be challenged directly without first pursuing appeals and revisions.

Conclusion: The preliminary objection based on alternative remedy was overruled.

Issue (ii): Whether dhoop and agarbatti fell within the expression "perfumery" and the category of luxury goods under Entry 16 of Schedule A so as to attract tax at the higher rate.

Analysis: The word "perfumery" was not defined in the Act, and it was construed in its ordinary sense. On that construction, dhoop and agarbatti were treated as items of perfumery. However, the higher rate under section 5 read with Entry 16 of Schedule A applied only to luxury goods. The Court applied the common understanding of luxury as something beyond necessity and held that articles used widely for religious worship, available to all classes, did not answer that description. The assessment could not therefore be sustained at the enhanced rate.

Conclusion: Dhoop and agarbatti were not luxury goods, and the reassessment under the higher rate was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The petitions succeeded, the impugned reassessment orders were quashed, and the assessee obtained relief against the enhanced sales tax demand.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a statutory definition, a taxing entry is construed in its ordinary sense, but an article attracts a higher rate only if it fits the statutory description in common understanding; items ordinarily used for religious worship and not regarded as necessities by an ordinary person are not luxury goods.

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