AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1963 (11) TMI 71
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....th within and without the State. These petitions urge that after the Amending Act 26 of 1961 the word "miller" used in the abovesaid provision means only an oil miller who crushes the kernel of groundnut and produces oil. That provision does not take within its meaning a decorticating miller. 3. In order to appreciate the merits of this contention it is necessary to mention the antecedents of this provision. Under the Madras General Sales Tax Act groundnuts were taxed at multiple points. Every purchaser was liable to pay the tax. After the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, was passed, single point levy was introduced and the point of levy was the first purchase within the State. The Amending Act 26 of 1959 changed the point of taxation and declared that it is the last purchaser in the State who would be liable to pay the tax. This amendment came into force on 1st May, 1959. This clause was again amended by the Second Amending Act 26 of 1961 whereby item 3-C in column (2) of Schedule IV was amended. The clause as it now stands is in the following terms: "When purchased by a miller in the State, at the point of purchase by the miller and in all other case....
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....re the word is defined as 'of or pertaining to, comprised or consisting of, or derived, or obtained from plants or their parts'. But this word must be construed not in any technical sense nor from the botanical point of view but as understood in common parlance. It has not been defined in the Act and being a word of every day use it must be construed in its popular sense meaning 'that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it'. It is to be construed as understood in common language." 7. The aid from the dictionary might in some cases be useful, but as stated above, as the meanings of words undergo constant changes, the dictionary cannot be considered as definite guidance in all such cases. 8. Even according to the dictionary meaning we do not think that the word "miller" appearing in the provision under consideration can by any stretch of imagination mean only the "oil miller" and would not take in the "decorticating miller". There is no warrant in the Act for any such construction. On the other hand, legislative history to which we would presently make a reference, and the conte....
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....ake in grain in bulk, and discharge it in bulk. In addition to this they contain special plant for the extraction of dust from the grain......... The whole of the grain in both elevators is treated in this way. That seems to me to be an operation similar to the processes carried on in mills. The essential of a mill is a process carried on by machinery by which the material subjected to it is made suitable for further treatment in a factory or another mill or for use." 13 Bouvier's Law Dictionary defines the word "mill" as a "complicated engine or machine for grinding and reducing to fine particles grain, fruit, or other substance, or for performing other operations by means of wheels and a circular motion." 14. Black's Law Dictionary defines that word in identical terms. The Oxford English Dictionary gave different meanings of that word. The following however are relevant for our purpose: "1. A building specially designed and fitted with machinery for the grinding of corn into flour. Also forming the second element in certain obvious combinations, as water-mill, wind-mill, flour grist-mill, many of which are treated under the first element. 2 (c) A m....
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.... word "manufacture" was considered by their Lordships of the Supreme Court. In that case, however the Central Excises and Salt Act (I of 1944) was under consideration which defines the word "manufacture" as follows: "Manufacture includes any process incidental or ancillary to the completion of a manufactured product." 19. While considering that Act their Lordships observed: "We are unable to agree with the learned counsel that by inserting this definition of the word 'manufacture' in section 2(f) the Legislature intended to equate 'processing' to 'manufacture' and intended to make mere 'processing' as distinct from 'manufacture' in the sense of bringing into existence of a new substance known to the market, liable to duty. The sole purpose of inserting this definition is to make it clear that at certain places in the Act the word 'manufacture' has been used to mean a process incidental to the manufacture of the article." 20. We do not therefore think that the decision can render any assistance to the petitioners in the present case. It must be remembered that the word "manufacture" does not appear in the clause....
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....e, a stove, a telescope, and many others, etc., etc." 25. Chambers' Twentieth Century Dictionary defines "manufacture", "to make, originally by hand, now used by machinery, and on a large scale; n.-the practice, act, or process of manufacturing." 26. The Concise Oxford Dictionary gave the following meaning to the word "manufacture": "Making of articles by physical labour or machinery, esp., on large scale." 27. Webster's New International Dictionary attributes the following meaning to the word "manufacture": "To make (wares or other products) by hand, by machinery, or by other agency; as, to manufacture cloth, nails, glass, etc., to produce by labour, esp., now, according to an organised plan and with division of labour, and usually with machinery." 28. The Oxford English Dictionary lends a meaning to that word as, "the action or process or making articles or material (in modern use, on a large scale) by the application of a physical labour or mechanical power." 29. It will thus be manifest that there is no warrant for the construction of the word "manufacture" only to mean a process by which the raw material is converted into an alto....
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....s a manufacturer. It was found that when planks are sawed out of logs, what is produced is a different thing from logs capable of being put to different uses. 33. We are therefore satisfied that having regard to the meanings which according to their common usages are given to the words "mill " and "manufacture" and even according to the dictionary meanings considered above, the word "miller" appearing in item 3-C, column (2) of Schedule IV of the Act would mean both the decorticating miller and the oil miller. It cannot be seriously disputed that even in common parlance the "mills" which carry on decorticating process are called "mills". Oil mills even according to the petitioners are termed as such. Even the petitioners in most of the petitions have used the term in regard to their factories as "decorticating mills". That being so, the main contention raised by the petitioners falls and we experience no difficulty in rejecting the same. 34. Even in view of the legislative history we are satisfied that the word "miller" was used by the Legislature in the provision under consideration indicating to include both decorticating as well as oil miller. In this regard it is profitab....