TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1972 (5) TMI 57
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....either under-assessed nor escaped assessment; that since bura is not separately mentioned in Schedule I or Schedule III prescribed in section 5(1) of the Act as taxable goods, it is implicit that bura is included in sugar shown as entry No. 9 of the Second Schedule made under section 6 of the Act; that the impugned notices (annexures 19 to 21) are beyond the scope, power, jurisdiction and competence of the respondent; that section 20(4) of the Act is ultra vires article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(f) of the Constitution of India as it imposes unreasonable restrictions on the trade and commerce to be carried out by the petitioners in bura sugar. It may be stated here that during the pendency of the writ petition, assessments were framed in pursuance of the impugned notices and the petitioners filed an application seeking permission to challenge those assessment orders. The said application was allowed on 19th April, 1971. The petitioners in the meantime went up in appeal to the Assistant Commissioner, Sales Tax, who by his order dated 26th May, 1971, held that having regard to the circumstances of the case, the sales tax was to be charged with effect from 1st January, 1970. The petitioner....
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....my learned brother in Civil Writ No. 320 of 1970. Mr. R.L. Tandon appearing for the respondent, however, urged two contentions on the basis of which he desired that the present writ petition be dismissed. Firstly, he urged that the petitioners have not exhausted all remedies which were available to them in pursuance to sections 20 and 21 of the Act. It was vehemently contended that the petitioners had the right of further appeal against the order of the Assistant Commissioner. Not only this, it was submitted that the petitioners could ask the authorities to refer to this court for determination the question of law now sought to be raised by the petitioners. Since the petitioners had not exhausted all the remedies available to them, it was urged they should not be allowed to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court. There is no substance in this submission. The petitioners challenge the jurisdiction of the respondent to impose sales tax. That being so, the writ petition cannot be said to be not maintainable. In State of West Bengal v. North Adjai Coal Co. Ltd.[1971] 27 S.T.C. 268 (S.C.); [1971] S.C.W.R. 133., a contention was raised that the High Court was incompetent ....
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....considered 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 ". In the instant case also, it may be noted that the word "sugar" or bura has not been defined in the Act. In the circumstances, the word bura has to be understood in the sense as people in the common parlance understand it. In other words, the word has to be understood and construed in the sense in which people dealing with the subject-matter understand and attribute meaning to it. Looked at from this point of view, there is no denying the fact that the word bura is commonly associated and understood as bura chini. At least that is the sense with which people conversant with the subject-matter consider bura as chini. Since the word bura or the word "sugar" has not been defined in the Act, it would be appropriate to consider the definition of the word "sugar" as given in other Acts to show what meaning was attributed to the word bura b....
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.... defines "sugar" in clause E of order 2 of the said order as meaning: (1) any form of sugar containing more than 90 per cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar.................... In the Sugar (Control) Order, 1955, the word sugar as defined in clause (d) of order 2 means (i) any form of sugar containing more than 90 per cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar. From the comparative study of the definition of the word bura, as given in the various Acts and Orders, referred to above, the word "sugar" as defined in those Acts and Orders means any form of sugar containing 90 per cent of sucrose including khandsari sugar, sugar candy and bura sugar and any sugar of crystallizing structure. It is, therefore, apparent that the word "sugar " has been defined and understood not only to mean crystal sugar but bura sugar as well. The respondent has not been able to show that bura is anything different than bura sugar. In this view of the matter, the only irresistible conclusion is that the word bura is covered by the word "sugar" as understood in its common parlance not only amongst the people conversant with the subject-matter bu....