Commercial meaning of varnish governs tax classification, and french-polish falls within the scheduled entry.

French-polish was held to fall within the ordinary and recognised commercial meaning of "varnish" in Item No. 97 of the Second Schedule to the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957. The court construed the entry broadly and found that varnishes include both oil varnishes and spirit varnishes; because french-polish is shellac dissolved in alcohol, it is a spirit varnish and therefore taxable under the scheduled entry rather than the residuary rate under section 5(1). The assessee's challenge to the classification was rejected.

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Issues: Whether french-polish falls within the expression "varnish" in Item No. 97 of the Second Schedule to the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957, and is therefore taxable under that entry rather than under the residuary rate applicable under Section 5(1) of the Act.

Analysis: The word "varnish" was construed in its ordinary sense and also by reference to its recognized commercial/technical meaning. Varnishes were described as including two classes, namely oil varnishes and spirit varnishes. French-polish was found to be shellac dissolved in alcohol, which is a spirit varnish. Since Item No. 97 covers "paints, colours, dyes and varnishes", the entry was held wide enough to include both oil varnishes and spirit varnishes.

Conclusion: French-polish is a varnish within Item No. 97 of the Second Schedule to the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957, and is liable to be assessed under that entry. The revision petition failed.

Final Conclusion: The assessee's challenge to the assessment classification was rejected, and the turnover of french-polish remained taxable under the scheduled entry for varnishes.

Ratio Decidendi: A commodity falling within the ordinary and recognized commercial meaning of a scheduled description must be classified under that description, and a scheduled entry for varnishes includes both oil varnishes and spirit varnishes.

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