Common parlance test excludes duplex board from "paper of all kind" under entry tax law.

The term "paper" under the Uttar Pradesh entry tax law must be understood in its popular and commercial sense because it is undefined in the Act. Applying the common parlance test, the relevant question is whether the commodity is ordinarily bought as paper for ordinary use and satisfies a demand for paper. Duplex board is understood as a packing material made of paper, and goods used only for packing do not answer the description of paper in common parlance. On that basis, duplex board was held to fall outside the entry "paper of all kind" and therefore not taxable under that entry.

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Issues: Whether duplex board falls within the entry "paper of all kind" for the purpose of levy of entry tax under the Uttar Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2007.

Analysis: The word "paper" is not defined in the Act and therefore has to be understood in its popular and commercial sense. Applying the common parlance test, the relevant enquiry is whether the commodity would ordinarily be bought as paper for ordinary use and whether it would satisfy a demand for paper. Duplex board is ordinarily understood as a packing material made of paper, and items used only for packing do not answer the description of paper in common parlance. Prior decisions treating duplex board as packing material and not as paper support this view.

Conclusion: Duplex board does not fall within the entry "paper of all kind" and is not taxable under that entry.

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