Ejusdem generis limits the paint entry; lime is treated as an unspecified commodity for sales tax.

Lime does not fall within the sales tax entry for paints and varnishes because the expression "paints" must be read in context with the associated items and confined, under ejusdem generis, to substances of the same class as coating materials. In common parlance, lime is a distinct commodity used mainly for whitewashing and industrial or chemical purposes, and its use on walls does not make it paint. It is therefore taxable as an unspecified commodity at 7 per cent.

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Issues: Whether lime falls within the entry for paints and varnishes and is therefore taxable accordingly, or whether it is to be treated as an unspecified commodity taxable at 7 per cent.

Analysis: The relevant entry covered paints and varnishes along with allied substances such as acids, dyes, lacquers, enamels, glue paints, turpentine oil, duplicating ink, polish and boot polish. The expression "paints" had to be construed in the context of the associated words and, on that basis, by applying the ejusdem generis principle, it was confined to substances of the same class as varnishes and similar coating materials. In common parlance, lime is understood as a distinct substance and not as paint. It is used primarily for whitewashing or in chemical and industrial processes, and its use on walls does not convert it into paint.

Conclusion: Lime is not paint for the purpose of the relevant sales tax entry and is taxable as an unspecified commodity at 7 per cent.

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