Commercial meaning controls sales tax classification of glass ampules, which are not treated as bottles under the entry.

Glass ampules are not "bottles" for purposes of entry 6(vii) of Schedule C to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. The commodity must be construed in its popular commercial sense rather than by scientific or technical description, and in commercial parlance bottles are containers whose openings can be closed with a cork or stopper. Ampules are hermetically sealed and can be opened only by breaking the seal, so they are commercially distinct from bottles. The reference in the entry to "empty bottles" and "corks" supports this reading under noscitur a sociis, showing that the entry contemplates bottles capable of being corked. The article concludes that glass ampules fall outside entry 6(vii) and do not qualify under that item.

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Issues: Whether glass ampules are "bottles" within entry 6(vii) of Schedule C to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, or fall under the residuary entry in Schedule E.

Analysis: In construing a sales tax entry, the relevant meaning is the sense in which the commodity is understood in the commercial world, not its scientific or technical description. Glass bottles and glass ampules are distinct in commercial parlance: bottles are ordinarily containers whose openings can be closed with a cork or stopper, whereas ampules are hermetically sealed and can be opened only by breaking the seal. The wording of entry 6(vii), which links "empty bottles" with "corks", also supports the conclusion by applying the principle of noscitur a sociis, indicating that the entry contemplates bottles capable of being closed with a cork.

Conclusion: Glass ampules are not "bottles" within entry 6(vii) of Schedule C and do not fall within that entry.

Ratio Decidendi: In a taxing statute, an unspecified commodity must be construed according to its popular commercial meaning, and associated words in the entry may be used to ascertain legislative intent under noscitur a sociis.

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