1991 (1) TMI 405

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....he First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act (in short, "the Act"), as it stood before it was substituted by Finance Act 18 of 1987. The Kerala Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Additional Bench, Ernakulam (in short, "the Tribunal"), in a common order dated October 31, 1989, held that the "multipin connectors", manufactured and sold by the revision-petitioner, is a set of instrument used as an appliance or apparatus in telecommunication systems and so it will fall within entry 132 of the First Schedule to the Act as it stood then, during the relevant period. The assessee, revision-petitioner assails the said decision of the Tribunal. 2.. We heard counsel for the revision-petitioner, Dr. K.B. Mohammed Kutty, as also counsel for the r....

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....-------------------------------------------------------- 3.. The short question is whether the "multipin connectors" manufactured and sold by the assessee can be called a "telecommunication apparatus". The Tribunal, relying upon the dictionary meaning of the word "apparatus " and considering the persons to whom the "multipin connectors" were sold by the assessee, came to the conclusion that the "multipin connectors" are "telecommunication apparatus". In order to understand, whether the "multipin connectors" marketed by the assessee will be a "telecommunication apparatus", the test that should be applied is, how persons in the said trade or business will understand the words "telecommunication apparatus". The relevant entry is one inserte....

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....how it is understood in 'common parlance' or 'in the commercial world' or in 'trade circles'. If the word used in the relevant entry is one of everyday use, it must be construed as understood in common parlance and it must be given its popular sense meaning 'that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it'. (See State of West Bengal v. Washi Ahmed [1977] 39 STC 378 (SC). But, 'if the Act is one passed with reference to a particular trade, business, or transaction, and words are used which everybody conversant with that trade, business or transaction knows and understands to have a particular meaning in it, then the words are to be construed as having that particular meaning,....