1963 (5) TMI 48

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.... total turnover of Rs. 2,31,968-35 nP. and claimed exemption on a turnover of Rs. 1,921-63 nP. The Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Coimbatore III, on checking the accounts found the turnover under jewels to be Rs. 1,35,631-76 nP. and under first sales of bullion to be Rs. 97,294-16 nP. During the enquiry the petitioners' authorised agent represented to the assessing authority that the bullion sold by the firm was a mixture of gold and copper. Thereupon the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer came to the conclusion that the commodity sold was not "bullion", that the assessees are not entitled to the benefit of the concessional rate of 1/2 per cent. on the first sale of bullion and that they are liable to pay tax at 2 per cent. on the sales turnover....

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.... Manual, Vol. I, where it is stated under the heading "bullion and specie" that "bullion is gold or silver in its uncoined state". There is an explanatory note which states that kora gold represents parts of jewels which cannot be used as jewels without re-making and therefore it should be treated as bullion. In Earl Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, bullion is defined as "uncoined gold and silver in the mass" and it is stated "these metals are called so, either when smelted from the native ore and not perfectly refined, or when they are perfectly refined, but melted down into bars or ingots or into any unwrought body of any degree of fineness." In Chambers' Technical Dictionary, bullion is defined as (1) [1960] 11 S.T.C. 483. gold or sil....

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.... elements are also used for alloying depending upon the colour and other properties involved. In the Defence of India (Amendment) Rules, 1963, gold is defined as meaning "gold, including its alloy, whether virgin melted, remelted, wrought or unwrought, in any shape or form of a purity of not less than nine carats............" Therefore, it is clear that bullion does not refer to 100% pure gold or pure silver: it may be gold or silver mixed with copper and other metals. The assessees are dealers in gold jewels. They also sell gold to their customers for manufacture of jewels. The gold which is sold for manufacturing purposes will only be an alloy and not pure gold. As pointed out by J. Paul De Castro in his book "Law and Practice of Ha....

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....s is made of the quality in Birmingham. Nine-carat gold it regularly manufactured into all kinds of bright goods, and this quality, when fully upto the standard of fineness, is hall-marked. The demand for it is largely increasing. It is chiefly employed in the manufacture of keeper and fancy rings, but there is a good trade in old gold coins of this class of gold." Therefore, the gold which is sold for manufacturing purposes will only be an alloy and not pure gold. The word bullion is a technical word. The word is generally used in commercial circles. The well established rule of construction of words used in statutes is thus stated in Black's Interpretation of Law at page 187:   "Words of commerce or trade, in a tariff law, or othe....