TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (4) TMI 65
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....ondent-dealer is a Public Limited Company incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the manufacture of glass and glassware made of Opal glass. The industrial unit of the respondent-dealer is situated at Madhupur in Deoghar district, Jharkhand. 4. The respondent-dealer is a dealer registered under the provisions of the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 and the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 ("the Act", for short). 5. The State Government, in exercise of its powers under clause (b) of sub-section 5 of Section 8 of the Act has issued the notification. Since the construction of the notification is in issue, we deem it appropriate to extract the notification. It reads as under: "S.O.25, dated the 25th June, 2001 - In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (b) of sub-section (5) of Section 8f of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (Act 74 of 1958) the Governor of Jharkhand is pleased to direct that tax payable under subsection (1) or (2) of Section 8 of the said Act in respect of Sale of all types of glass and glass sheets in the course of interstate sale or commerce from any place of business in the State of Jharkhand shall be calculated at the rate of three per cent....
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....fit of the notification, which has come into force with effect from 16.06.2001. 12. The High Court, after a detailed consideration of the issue before them, has come to the conclusion that the glassware manufactured by the respondent-dealer is a type of glass and therefore, it is entitled to the benefit of reduced rate of tax under the notification and, accordingly, has quashed the said letters. 13. Being aggrieved by the said order of the Division Bench of the High Court, the State is before us in this appeal. 14. We have heard Shri Jayesh Gaurav, learned counsel for the appellant-State and Shri S.D. Sanjay, learned senior counsel for the respondent-dealer. We have carefully perused the documents on record and the judgment and order impugned herein. 15. Shri Gaurav would submit that the expression "types of glass" as used in the notification would not include the product in question as it is merely a "form of glass". He would provide us with some information in respect of types of glasses being classified into nine types: 1)Soda glass or soda-lime glass, 2)Coloured glass, 3)Plate glass, 4)Safety glass, 5)Laminated glass, 6)Optical glass, 7)Pyrex glass, 8)Photo-chromatic glass,....
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....anufacturer is covered by it at all and if the dealer/manufacturer falls within the notification, then the provisions of the notification be liberally construed. 20. Literally speaking, an exemption is freedom from any liability, payment of tax or duty. It may assume different applications in a growing economy such as provisioning for tax holiday to new units, concessional rate of tax to goods or persons for a limited period under specific conditions and therefore, in Union of India v. Wood Papers Ltd., (1990) 4 SCC 256 this Court has observed that construction of an exemption notification or an exemption clause in contrast with the charging provision has to be tested on different touchstone and held that the eligibility clause in relation to an exemption notification is given strict meaning and the notification has to be interpreted in terms of its language, however, once an assessee satisfies the eligibility clause, the exemption clause therein may be construed literally. This Court has explained the rationale of adopting the said approach as under: "4. ... In fact an exemption provision is like an exception and on normal principle of construction or interpretation of statutes ....
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....egard must be had to the clear meaning of the words and that the matter should be governed wholly by the language of the notification i.e. by the plain terms of the exemption." (emphasis supplied) 22. In CCE v. Mahaan Dairies this Court has observed that: "8. It is settled law that in order to claim benefit of a notification, a party must strictly comply with the terms of the notification. If on wording of the notification the benefit is not available then by stretching the words of the notification or by adding words to the notification benefit cannot be conferred." 23. CCE v. Bhalla Enterprises laid down a proposition that notification has to be construed on the basis of the language used. A similar view has been expressed by a Division Bench of this Court in Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand, Kartar Rolling Mills v. CCE, Eagle Flask Industries Ltd. v. CCE, Govt. of India v. Indian Tobacco Assn., (2005) 7 SCC 396, Collector of Customs (Preventive) v. Malwa Industries Ltd., (2009) 12 SCC 735 and CCE v. Rukmani Pakkwell Traders. 24. Having said that, we would now examine whether the notification would at all be applicable to the sale of product in question. 25.....