Ordinary meaning of machinery applied to handloom and parts, excluding residual unclassified taxation.

Where a taxing entry does not define "machinery," the term is construed in its ordinary and common meaning. A handloom used for making cloth from yarn, with parts that move together by manual manipulation to transmit and transform force and energy, falls within that meaning. Its parts are likewise machinery parts. Accordingly, a commodity answering the description of machinery or machinery parts cannot be assessed under the residual unclassified category, and taxation under that head is not justified.

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Issues: Whether handloom (kargha) and its parts are machinery and machinery parts, or are liable to be taxed as unclassified articles.

Analysis: The expression "machinery" was not defined in the Act, the Rules, or the notification, and therefore had to be understood in its ordinary and common meaning. The article sold by the assessee was used for making cloth from yarn, and by manual manipulation its several parts moved together to transmit and transform force and energy. On that basis, the handloom answered the ordinary meaning of machinery, and its parts also fell within that description. A commodity which is machinery or machinery parts could not be assessed as an unclassified item.

Conclusion: The handloom (kargha) and its parts are machinery and machinery parts, and the levy as an unclassified item was not justified.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by holding that the commodity was taxable under the machinery entry and not under the unclassified residual category.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing entry does not define "machinery", the term must be given its ordinary meaning, and an article that transmits and transforms force or energy through coordinated moving parts falls within that description.

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