TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1983 (7) TMI 281
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....erence, we set out those two entries as below: "112. Chinaware, porcelainware and stoneware Eight per cent. other than those falling under any other entry. 118.. Containers other than gunnies. Four per cent." 2.. The petitioner is a dealer registered under the provisions of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act. For the assessment year 1975-76 the petitioner submitted the return of turnover declaring taxable turnover at Rs. 23,758.88 out of which the turnover of Rs. 19,938.68 pertains to sales of pickle jars. It was contended before the assessing authority that that turnover should be brought to tax at the rate of 4 per cent under entry 118. But the assessing authority did not accept that contention. That turnover was taxed at 8 per cent tre....
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....tainers. Therefore the lower authorities are perfectly right in holding that pickle jars, i.e., barani, which are made of chinaclay fall under entry 112 of the Second Schedule taxable at 8 per cent." 4.. The first submission of Mr. E.R. Indrakumar in this revision petition is that the circular issued by the Commissioner treating the jars taxable at 4 per cent under entry 118 of the Second Schedule to the Act, is binding on all the authorities constituted under the Act and it is not open to them to deviate from the said circular and tax the turnover of jars under entry 112 at 8 per cent. Before dealing with this contention, it is necessary to state that the said circular was withdrawn by the Commissioner in 1979. But, the assess....
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....ot be binding on this Court. But, we are not called upon to adjudicate the question independent of the orders made by the statutory authorities. We are exercising a revisional jurisdiction under section 23 of the Act. We cannot therefore altogether ignore the circular issued by the competent authority and examine the question with pristine purity. 7.. Section 3-A of the Act is similar to section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. While dealing with the circulars issued by the Central Board of Revenue under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, the Supreme Court, at least in three decisions, has stated that such circulars are binding on all officers and persons employed in the execution of the Income-tax Act, even if the circulars deviate f....
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....ceived from contemporary authority, though it must give way where the language of the statute is plain and unambiguous. This rule has been succinctly and felicitously expressed in Crawford on Statutory Construction, 1940 Edn., where it is stated in paragraph 219 that 'administrative construction (i.e., contemporaneous construction placed by administrative or executive officers charged with executing a statute) generally should be clearly wrong before it is overturned; such a construction, commonly referred to as practical construction, although non-controlling, is nevertheless entitled to considerable weight, it is highly persuasive'. The validity of this rule was also recognised in Baleshwar Bagarti v. Bhagirathi Dass [1908] ILR 35 Cal 701....