Commercial meaning of commodity description: Tribunal's evidence-based finding on Nylon-6 as a petrochemical raised no question of law.

A statutory commodity description must be construed in its commercial sense, and a Tribunal's finding that Nylon-6 answered the description of a petrochemical was held to be a finding of fact. The Tribunal relied on dictionaries, technical publications, expert material and related statutory usage, and no misdirection in law, absence of evidence, inadmissible evidence, ignoring of material evidence, or perversity was shown. On that basis, the issue raised by the reference applications did not give rise to a question of law, and the High Court correctly refused to require a reference. The assessee's product was therefore treated as falling within the relevant entry on the Tribunal's factual finding.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Tribunal's finding that Nylon-6 was a "petrochemical" gave rise to a question of law requiring a reference, and whether the High Court was right in refusing to direct a reference.

Analysis: The relevant statutory entry had to be understood in the commercial sense in which the commodity was generally understood. The Tribunal's conclusion was based on a large body of evidentiary material, including dictionaries, technical publications, expert material and related statutory usage. No misdirection in law, absence of evidence, inadmissible evidence, ignoring of material evidence, or perversity in the Tribunal's finding was shown. On that basis, the issue raised by the reference applications was treated as one of fact rather than a question of law.

Conclusion: The High Court correctly refused to require a reference, and the assessee's product was treated as falling within the relevant entry on the Tribunal's factual finding.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory commodity description is construed in its commercial sense, a Tribunal's finding based on evidence that a product answers that description is ordinarily a finding of fact and does not raise a question of law unless vitiated by misdirection, perversity, or exclusion of relevant material.

---