Manufacture requires transformation: mere boulder extraction is not manufacture, and an unraised reference question could not be entertained.

Extraction of boulders by digging and loosening earth was held not to amount to manufacture under section 2(j) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, because the activity did not transform the material into a new and different article. The court applied the principle that manufacture requires a real change in character or identity, not mere extraction or collection. A further question could not be directed to be referred because no prayer for reference of that additional question had been made before the Tribunal under section 44(1). The application for reference was therefore rejected.

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Issues: Whether extraction of boulders amounts to manufacture under section 2(j) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, and whether a further question not raised before the Tribunal could be directed to be referred.

Analysis: Extraction of boulders was found to involve only digging and loosening of earth to facilitate collection and transport. The activity did not bring about any transformation, nor did it result in the emergence of a new and different article. Since no prayer had been made before the Tribunal under section 44(1) for reference of the additional question, that request could not be entertained in the present application under section 44(2).

Conclusion: Extraction of boulders does not amount to manufacture under section 2(j) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, and the additional reference sought could not be ordered.

Final Conclusion: The application for reference was rejected and the Tribunal's view was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: An activity amounts to manufacture only when it results in a transformation producing a new and different article; mere extraction or loosening of material without such change is not manufacture.

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