Exemption entry interpretation: printed roll registers are not "books" or "exercise books" and remain taxable.

Printed roll registers used by examining bodies were held not to fall within the terms "books" or "exercise books" in Entry 10 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, so they were not exempt from sales tax. The court applied the popular meaning of the words and the principle of noscitur a sociis, reading the general term "books" in light of the associated expressions "exercise books" and "periodical journals". On that restricted commercial construction, the exemption covered printed materials used for education, information, recreation, or reference, but not sheets used merely to record examination results.

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Issues: Whether printed roll registers used by examining bodies fall within the expression "books" or "exercise books" in Entry 10 of the Schedule to the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, so as to be exempt from sales tax under Section 4 of the Act.

Analysis: The expression "books" was held to have an expansive dictionary meaning, but the surrounding words "exercise books" and "periodical journals" showed that the Legislature intended a restricted sense. Applying the popular meaning and the principle of noscitur a sociis, the exemption was understood to cover printed collections of papers used for education, information, recreation, or reference. Exercise books were treated as stationery facilitating learning, and periodical journals as publications disseminating information or recreation. Printed roll registers, by contrast, were only sheets used to record examination results and did not directly serve those exempted purposes.

Conclusion: Printed roll registers are not "books" or "exercise books" within Entry 10 and are not exempt from sales tax.

Ratio Decidendi: In an exemption entry, a general word takes its colour from associated words, and an item is exempt only if it falls within the restricted commercial sense indicated by the statutory context.

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