1976 (3) TMI 190

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....rn all these appeals involving a common question. The Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Cuttack, included in the turnover of the respondent the sale price of jeera, dhania (coriander), panmohuri, methi, postak and pipali and levied 5 per cent sales tax under the Orissa Sales Tax Act (briefly the State Act). On appeal the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Puri, allowed the claim of the respondent and held that the above items are oil-seeds within the meaning of section 14(vi) of the Central Sales Tax Act and gave the respondent the benefit of a lower tax of 2 per cent on the sales turnover of those goods instead of 5 per cent under the State Act. On appeal by the State of Orissa to the Sales Tax Tribunal claiming 5 per cent on the sales turno....

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....following goods are of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce: (vi) oil-seeds, that is to say, seeds yielding non-volatile oils used for human consumption, or in industry, or in the manufacture of varnishes, soaps and the like, or in lubrication, and volatile oils used chiefly in medicines, perfumes, cosmetics and the like." The above definition is an explanatory one and uses mentioned therein cover a wide range. If the particular items which are assessed under the State Act can be brought under the definition of "oil-seeds", as given in the above provision, the assessee will be entitled to a lower levy of sales tax. Mr. Mahajan, appearing on behalf of the appellant, submits that the court should adopt the meaning given to th....

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....d that dhania and other seeds which came up for consideration were not oil-seeds under item 3 of Schedule IV of the Andhra Pradesh Sales Tax Act. It is interesting that on this finding of that court coriander escaped altogether from assessment. In Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh, Indore v. Bakhat Rai and Co. [1966] 18 S.T.C. 285., the Madhya Pradesh High Court also took the same view as that of the Andhra Pradesh High Court while dealing with item 3, Part 11, Schedule I, of the C.P. and Berar Sales Tax Act. In the Madhya Pradesh case, however, the term "oil-seed" has not been defined under the Act. The court, therefore, held that since it was an item of everyday use it must be construed in its popular meaning, that is to say, in ....

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....ish limpid liquid having characteristic odour of cumin. Postak-(poppy seed); botanical name papaver somniferum. Poppy oil is a very pale golden yellow liquid with pleasant taste and odour extracted from the seeds and it is used as food oil, artist's colours, varnishes and lubrication. Methi-(fenugreek); botanical name-trigonella foenum-graecum (vide p. 164, Vol. 9, of the Encyclopaedia Britannica). It is stated, inter alia, therein that it bears a sickle-shaped pod, containing from 10 to 20 seeds, from which 6 per cent of a foetid, fatty, and bitter oil can be extracted by ether."   Besides, the High Court also had before it the notification of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, dated Januar....