1974 (10) TMI 89

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....sequently, the authorities discovered that the assessee in the bills of sales had designated the goods as "jars". Thereupon, the Commissioner of Sales Tax filed revisions on the ground that the turnover of "jars" was taxable at 10 per cent as glassware. The commodity in question was not "bottle" so as to be exempted under the notification dated 1st October, 1965. The Judge (Revisions) repelled this plea and dismissed the revisions. At the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, the revising authority has referred the following questions of law for the opinion of this court: "(1) Whether the additional revising authority was justified in law in holding the glass vessels manufactured and sold by the assessee which have no narrow neck....

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....s Tax Act or the Rules, or even the notification dated 1st October, 1965, does not define the term "bottle". It is well-settled that the goods, which are in common use and are not defined by the Act or the Rules, should be identified as understood in common parlance: see Imperial Surgico Industries v. Commissioner of Sales Tax[1969] 23 S.T.C. 201. The learned counsel for the assessee produced a few samples of the commodity in dispute. It was noticeable that these goods were glass containers with an arrangement of fixing a screw top or cap on top. In Webster's New International Dictionary (Volume 1) at page 258 the word "bottle" has been given the following meanings:   "Bottle-la: a rigid or semi-rigid container made typically of ....

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.... This, in our opinion, is not sufficient to take them out of the category of "bottle", which is a term of general application. Since the notification does not separately treat the "jar" as a taxable commodity, it would, in our opinion, be appropriate to hold that the glass articles in question are within the general term "bottle". Looked at from either point of view, the turnover of the commodity in question was rightly held to be "bottle". As such it was exempt from tax. It has been found that in some of the sale bills the assessee termed the article in question as jars, like "American jar", "honey jar", etc. The Judge (Revisions) has, however, found that the assessee charged sales tax on the sales of these goods at the rate of 2 per ce....