Common parlance test in tax classification: x-ray films are distinct from photographic films and fall under the residuary entry.

X-ray films were treated as distinct from ordinary photographic films and plates for sales tax classification under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941. Applying the common parlance test, the tribunal noted that no special statutory definition displaced the ordinary commercial meaning of the commodity. Because x-ray films are used with x-ray apparatus and not photographic cameras, they could not be forced into the specific entry for photographic films and plates. They therefore fell, if taxable at all, within the residuary entry rather than the specific exemption-like classification.

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Issues: Whether x-ray films were covered by the expression "photographic films and plates" under section 5(1)(d) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, or fell within the residuary clause in section 5(1)(e) of that Act.

Analysis: The determining principle was the meaning of the commodity in common parlance, since no special definition or statutory clue displaced ordinary commercial understanding. On that basis, x-ray films were held to be distinct from ordinary photographic films and plates, being a special type of film used only with x-ray apparatus and not in photographic cameras. Prior decisions and the administrative circular referred to in the record supported that distinction, and the existing orders had not engaged with the question by proper independent reasoning.

Conclusion: X-ray films were not included in the phrase "photographic films and plates" in section 5(1)(d) and were taxable, if at all, under the residuary provision in section 5(1)(e) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

Ratio Decidendi: In classification matters under a taxing statute, where no special definition is provided, a commodity must be understood in its common parlance sense, and a product used for a distinct purpose in trade and ordinary understanding cannot be forced into a specific entry meant for a different commodity.

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