Tax entry interpretation for stone goods upheld: granite blocks and pieces fall within the "stone" entry and are taxable at the lower rate.

Granite stone blocks and pieces were held to fall within Entry No. 109 of Schedule II Part A as "stone" and to be taxable at 5%, because the entry expressly covered the generic commodity while excluding only glazed stone, marble and marble chips. The court applied a plain reading of the tax entry and rejected a restrictive construction that would exclude granite in the absence of a specific carve-out. The Tribunal's view that unprocessed stones fall within the entry, consistent with the express exclusions, was upheld and the revenue's challenge failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether granite stone block and pieces sold by the dealer fall within Entry No. 109 of Schedule II Part A as "stone" taxable at 5% or are to be treated as unclassified goods taxable at 14.5%.

Analysis: Entry No. 109 expressly includes "stone" while specifically excluding glazed stone, marble and marble chips. The legislative intent did not indicate any exclusion of granite stone, and the omission of that specific item could not justify a restrictive reading that would exclude ordinary stones generally covered by the entry. The Tribunal's view that unprocessed stones fall within the entry, whereas processed stones may stand outside it, was found consistent with the express exclusion of glazed stone.

Conclusion: Granite stone block and pieces are covered by Entry No. 109 and are taxable at 5%. The revenue's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The revision was rejected and the Tribunal's classification of the goods was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tax entry expressly includes a generic commodity and carves out only specified exclusions, the entry cannot be narrowly read to exclude other goods that ordinarily fall within that generic description.

---