TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1991 (4) TMI 417
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..... The sales turnover of such chicory seeds during the assessment year 1978-79 was to the tune of Rs. 1,46,921.43. After examination of the accounts, the respondent/assessee was assessed on a total and taxable turnover of Rs. 13,78,571.21 which was inclusive of the sales of chicory seeds and penalty under section 12(3) of the Act was also levied. On appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the assessment on the turnover relating to the sales of chicory seeds at 4 per cent was sustained, but the levy of penalty under section 12(3) of the Act was set aside. The assessee pursued the matter further before the Tribunal which came to the conclusion that the sales of chicory seeds will be sales of vegetable seeds coming within the scope of the exemption notification referred to supra and, therefore, stood exempt from the levy of sales tax. The Tribunal was of the view that chicory, though not used as a principal item of the meal, its contents are used for mixing with coffee powder which forms a subsidiary meal item, and, therefore, it satisfies the terms of the exemption notification. 3.. Mr. R. Lokapriya, the learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the Revenue con....
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....egard green ginger as vegetable. The assessee in fact placed evidence before the sales tax authorities showing that the railway authorities also treated green ginger as vegetable for the purpose of railway tariff and charged for the carriage of green ginger at the reduced rate applicable to vegetables and even the Corporation of Calcutta included green ginger in the category of vegetable in the market bulletin published by it fortnightly showing the rates in the municipal market. There can, therefore, be little doubt that green ginger is generally regarded as included within the meaning of the word 'vegetable' as understood in common parlance. That apart, we find that item 6 speaks not simply of vegetables but 'vegetables-commonly known as "sabji, tarkari or sak" ' and the Division Bench of the High Court held green ginger to fall within the meaning of the words 'sabji, tarkari or sak'. We should certainly be very slow to disturb a meaning placed on these words in Bengali language by two Judges of the High Court who may reasonably be expected to be quite conversant with that language. We are accordingly of the view that green ginger is included within the meaning of the words 'vege....
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..... Ms. No. 1764, Revenue, dated April 5, 1960 in the context of the position of "ripened coconuts". The appeal before the Supreme Court was one arising under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, from a judgment of this Court. That was a case in which the assessee, a dealer in groceries, claimed that his sales turnover of ripened coconuts was exempt under the notification referred to above which gave exemption in respect of sales of "fresh fruits" or "vegetables" in addition to certain other items also. The apex Court once again considered about the construction to be adopted in such a case and laid down the following principles: "The canon of construction to be invoked in these types of statutes has been repeatedly enunciated in several decisions of this Court but it is not necessary to refer to all of them. In Indo International Industries v. Commissioner of Sales Tax [1981] 47 STC 359 (SC); [1981] 3 SCR 294 this Court rules thus: 'It is well-settled that in interpreting items in statutes like the Excise Tax Acts or Sales Tax Acts, whose primary object is to raise revenue and for which purpose they classify diverse products, articles and substances, r....
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....s" are words of everyday use and they have to be construed ascribing to them the meaning attributable to them in common parlance and in the sense in which every house-holder will understand them. It is not only improbable but would be too artificial to assume that when in an ordinary day-to-day use, vegetable is asked to be purchased, chicory can substitute its place and one is asked to get vegetable seeds, the purchase of chicory seeds will answer the demand or requirement of the common man. Consequently, except by doing violence to the language as well as transgressing the object of the use of the word "vegetable seeds" in the notification in question, chicory seeds cannot be brought within its meaning. We are of the view that the object of the notification appears to be to exempt plants of the specified variety as well as seeds of vegetables, fruits and flowers and the notification cannot be so construed as to bring within it the whole gamut of seeds of vegetables in the botanical sense of the term. Neither it appears to be the intention of the notification nor in our view the language adopted or the terms of the notification warrant such a construction being placed on the words....