Wet grinder classification under sales tax schedule turned on the amendment date, with recomputation needed for split assessment periods.

Wet grinders were treated as electrically operated domestic grinders falling within item 41-B of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act from 13 September 1977, so tax at 12% applied from that date. For periods before the amendment, item 81 continued to govern the classification. Where the assessment year 1977-78 covered both periods, the assessment required fresh recomputation to apportion liability between the pre-amendment and post-amendment segments.

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Issues: Whether wet grinders are classifiable under item 41-B of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 or under item 81 of the same Schedule, and the consequent tax liability for the relevant assessment periods.

Analysis: Item 41-B, as introduced from 13 September 1977, covered electrical grinders and, after amendment, domestic electrical appliances including grinders. Wet grinders, being electrically operated grinders used for domestic purposes, were held to fall within the scope of item 41-B and could not be excluded merely because the entry used the word "grinders". The amended entry was therefore applicable from its commencement date, while periods prior to that date remained governed by item 81. For the assessment year 1977-78, the matter required fresh assessment to apportion the liability between the pre-amendment and post-amendment periods.

Conclusion: Wet grinders were held classifiable under item 41-B from 13 September 1977, with tax at 12% leviable from that date; for periods prior to that date, item 81 applied, and the assessment for 1977-78 was remanded for recomputation.

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