TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1951 (9) TMI 30
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....39. They serve refreshments to the public at the counter of their stall, as also on the platform of the station and to the passengers in the trains which come and go. They have also got a general provision store within Palghat, but outside the station. The period of assessment with which we are concerned in Revision Application No. 13 is 1st October, 1946, to 31st March, 1947, while the one in Revision Application No. 14 is 1st April, 1947, to 31st March, 1948. The Sales Tax Officer concerned held that the taxable turnover of the applicants for the first period was Rs. 66,092-14-6 and assessed Rs. 2,065-6-0 thereon. He held that his taxable turnover was Rs. 1,28,473 in the second period and taxed Rs. 4,014-12-0. The Sales Tax Officer passed....
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....s, etc.) sold to the passengers in the train or on the platform. They further contend that penalties for non-payment of sales tax have been wrongly imposed. 6.. Taking first the question as regards what is included in "cooked food" mentioned in item No. 10, we may say that reference was made to certain dictionaries where the word "food" is stated to mean anything which is nourishing whether solid or liquid. The ques- tion of the interpretation of this word was before this Tribunal in Ashtaputre v. Commissioner of Sales Tax (R.A.No.3 of 1948) and we have referred in para 5 of the judgment in it to the meaning given in Roland Burrows' "Words and Phrases Judicially Defined" which goes to the farthest limit. As regards it, this Tribunal observ....
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....item by Bombay Act I of 1949. That amendment was intended to exempt drinks and the word "eaten" was substituted by the word "consumed". The addition of the word "drink" and substitution of "consumed" for "eaten" are significant enough. 10.. For the reasons given above, we hold that "food" does not include tea, coffee, etc. but only means such food as can be masticated and swallowed, e.g. biscuits, cakes, etc. 11.. Going to the point whether the articles of cooked food sold to the passengers in the train or on the platform are exempt, we think that the words in it "or other place where cooked food is served" are sufficient for the purpose. These words are capacious enough to include the platform or the train. Passengers are served with ref....
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....ve been subjected to heating at some time are exempt. The refresh- ments do not amount to meals as held by us in the judgment referred to above, which view has been upheld by the Honourable the High Court. The sale of refreshments (solid) prepared after applying heat must, therefore, be treated as wholly exempt in cases arising before the amendment of 1949. 14.. The last point relates to the penalties imposed. Section 12 (3A), it is pointed out, was added by Bombay Act I of 1949 which came into force on 1st April, 1949, while the last of the returns in question were submitted on 29th April, 1948, i.e. nearly a year before the sub-section came into force. Relying on these facts, it is contended by the applicants that the penalties are impos....
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....ty is called for. We think that it is only wilful withholding of the payment of the tax that should be visited with any penalty and that discretion should be left to the Sales Tax Authorities to decide the question whether in the circum- stances of a particular case it should at all be imposed. 16.. We may also be permitted to point out that the amount of penalty (which is fixed by the sub-section at a particular percentage) swells owing to the congestion of work with the Sales Tax Officers and the consequent inordinate delay in the disposal of returns. We may be permitted to refer in this connection to the fact that in this very case, returns submitted in 1947 and April 1948 came up for disposal by the Sales Tax Officers on 28th June, 195....