Popular and commercial meaning of cement governs sales tax classification of refractory materials, not technical characteristics.

Refractory materials such as castable refracting binding materials and cumicrete were examined for classification under item 34 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. The controlling test was the popular and commercial meaning of "cement", not a technical or dictionary meaning. Because these goods were heat-resistant refractory products and were not commercially understood or traded as cement, they could not be treated as cement or as substitutes for ordinary cement, even after the amendment to item 34. On that basis, the materials fell outside single point levy and remained taxable at the multi-point rate under section 3(1).

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Issues: Whether the assessees' refractory materials, including castable refracting binding materials and cumicrete, fall within item 34 of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 as "cement" or "cement including its substitutes", so as to attract single point tax under section 3(2) rather than multi-point tax under section 3(1).

Analysis: The expression "cement" in item 34 had to be understood in its popular and commercial sense, not in a technical or dictionary sense. The materials sold by the assessees were shown to be refractory materials or refractory mortars whose main characteristic was heat resistance, and they were not commercially known or traded as cement. The later amendment substituting "cement including its substitutes" did not alter the position, because these refractory goods could not, in common trade understanding, be treated as substitutes for ordinary cement used for building purposes. The Tribunal's reliance on a decision dealing essentially with white cement did not govern the present refractory products.

Conclusion: The assessees' goods do not fall under item 34 either before or after its amendment and are taxable only at the multi-point rate under section 3(1) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. The finding of single point levy under section 3(2) was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: For sales tax classification, a commodity must be classified according to its popular and commercial identity in the market, and a refractory product that is not commercially understood as cement cannot be brought within an entry for cement or its substitutes merely because it may possess some binding properties.

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