1962 (6) TMI 48

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....talks. For the assessment years 1957-58 and 1958-59 the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Hindupur, issued notices to the petitioner to submit a return of the turnover in respect of the crushed tobacco stems and stalks for the purpose of subjecting them to sales tax. Thereupon, the petitioner approached this Court invoking its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution and contending that crushed tobacco stalks are not exigible to tax, as that commodity is exempted under Schedule V of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. In support of this petition, it is urged by Sri Anantha Babu that the expression "tobacco and all its products" is comprehensive enough to take in crushed tobacco stalks also. This argument is based upon the....

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....e to be inserted in Schedule V of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, which deals with goods exempted from tax under section 8. Taking into account the recommendations of the Second Finance Commission dated 30th September, 1957, the Union Government formulated a scheme to impose additional duties of excise on (i) textiles, (ii) sugar and (iii) tobacco and for that purpose enacted the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957, providing for levy of excise duties on these commodities in replacement of sales tax levied by the various States. The scheme of the Act is, the net profits were to be distributed amongst the States. The Central Act came into force on 24th December, 1957. However, there was no p....

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....t way, the statement furnishes us a clue to the construction of the expression "tobacco and all its products ". It is plain that the intendment of the Legislature in amending the Schedule was to avoid double taxation in respect of these three commodities which were exigible to additional excise duty under the Central Statute. That being the real position, we think that tobacco stalks are governed by item 7 of Schedule V to the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957. In that situation, the judgment of this Court in T.R.C. No. 52 of 1958, which interpreted "tobacco and all its products" mentioned in item 13 of section 3(2-A) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act does not govern the instant case. It is true that it was laid down there that c....