Basic sales tax reduction does not exclude additional tax and surcharge where no express exemption is granted.

G.O. Ms. No. 540 was construed as reducing only the basic rate of sales tax under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, because its reference to a reduction of tax notwithstanding the Schedules was read as directed to the charging entries alone. The absence of any express exemption from additional tax and surcharge, unlike other government orders that said so expressly, was treated as significant, and the contemporaneous government clarification confirmed that additional tax under section 5-A and surcharge under section 6-B remained leviable. The notification therefore did not cap total tax liability at 4 per cent.

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Issues: Whether G.O. Ms. No. 540 reduced only the basic rate of tax under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, or whether it limited the total tax liability to 4 per cent so as to exclude additional tax under section 5-A and surcharge under section 6-B.

Analysis: The notification was read as a whole and its reference to reduction of the rate of tax "notwithstanding anything contained in any of the Schedules" was held to point to the basic rate specified in the charging schedule entries, not to the entire tax burden. The absence of any express exemption from additional tax and surcharge, unlike other government orders where such exemptions were specifically granted, was treated as significant. The Court also noted the contemporaneous governmental clarification that the reduction was confined to the basic rate and that additional tax and surcharge remained leviable.

Conclusion: The notification did not cap the total tax at 4 per cent, and additional tax under section 5-A and surcharge under section 6-B were payable in addition to the reduced basic rate.

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