Coke in all its forms: calcined petroleum coke stays within the statutory entry for tax refund purposes.

Interpretation of the statutory entry covering "coke in all its forms" governed the tax refund dispute over raw petroleum coke and calcined petroleum coke. The HC applied the Supreme Court's earlier construction of that composite entry and held that chemical or physical change on calcination did not exclude calcined petroleum coke from its scope. The view that the two products were separate commercial commodities was not accepted as a basis to refuse refund. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh decision in line with the binding interpretation.

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Issues: Whether raw petroleum coke and calcined petroleum coke were covered by the same entry as "coke in all its forms" for the purpose of refund of tax under the sales tax law.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the character of raw petroleum coke after calcination and whether the process created a commercially different commodity so as to justify denial of refund. The Court held that the governing principle was the interpretation of the statutory entry in the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, which treats coke in all its forms as one composite entry. Applying the earlier Supreme Court ruling on the scope of that entry, the Court found that the fact of chemical or physical change did not take calcined petroleum coke out of the inclusive expression used in the statute. The reasoning that raw petroleum coke and calcined petroleum coke were separate commercial commodities was therefore not accepted as a basis to refuse relief.

Conclusion: The refund rejection could not stand on the ground that calcined petroleum coke was outside the relevant statutory entry; the impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh decision in accordance with the binding interpretation.

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