Exhaustive tax notification wording limits timber coverage; unlisted sain and asna wood fall outside the concessional description.

In a single-point sales tax notification, the phrase "that is to say" was treated as exhaustive, not illustrative, so the listed tree varieties defined the full scope of the concessional category. Sain and asna wood were not named in the notification and could not be brought within "timber" merely because they were used for building purposes. The court therefore held that the notification covered only the specified varieties of timber, excluded unlisted woods, and answered the reference against the assessee and in favour of the department.

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Issues: (i) whether sain and asna wood fell within the meaning of "timber" under the notification dated 31 July 1967; (ii) whether the trees named in the notification were illustrative or exhaustive.

Issue (i): whether sain and asna wood fell within the meaning of "timber" under the notification dated 31 July 1967.

Analysis: The notification imposed a single point tax and used the phrase "that is to say" before specifying the kinds of timber covered. In the context of a fiscal notification of this nature, that expression was taken to exhaustively enumerate the goods included in the description. Since sain and asna were not among the varieties named, they could not be treated as covered merely because they were wood used for building purposes.

Conclusion: Sain and asna wood was not timber within the meaning of the notification.

Issue (ii): whether the trees named in the notification were illustrative or exhaustive.

Analysis: The list of tree varieties following the words "that is to say" was treated as a closed list. The structure and purpose of the notification showed that the enumeration was intended to define the class of goods subject to the concessional treatment, and not merely to provide examples.

Conclusion: The trees mentioned in the notification were exhaustive and not merely illustrative.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the assessee and in favour of the department, with costs awarded to the department.

Ratio Decidendi: In a single-point sales tax notification, the phrase "that is to say" ordinarily exhausts the category of goods specified after it, so unlisted goods are excluded from the concessional description.

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