TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2016 (10) TMI 786
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.... authorized dealer. For the period from 1.4.2006 to 31.3.2007, the Commercial Tax Officer, Veraval carried out the assessment in case of the respondent and levied VAT @ 12.5% treating the goods under the residuary entry. In the process, the Assessing Officer relied on a determination order dated 16.4.2007 passed by the Joint Commissioner in case of one M/s.Gujarat Matsyaudhyog Kendriya Sahakari Sansthan Ltd. 3. Against the said order of assessment dated 28.3.2011, the assessee filed appeal before the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Tax, who dismissed said appeal by an order dated 28.11.2011. Upon which the assessee approached the Gujarat Value Added Tax Tribunal (for short 'the Tribunal'). Before the Tribunal, the assessee contended that the determination order in case of M/s.Gujarat Matsyaudhyog Kendriya Sahakari Sansthan Ltd. was carried in appeal before the Tribunal, who allowed the appeal and held that the goods would fall under entry-42A as agricultural inputs. The case of the assessee was thus, covered by the said judgment of the Tribunal. In any case, the goods would be covered under entry-58A pertaining to plant and machinery and therefore also, exigible to tax a....
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....fied the goods of following description as agricultural inputs for the purpose of Entry-42A. SCHEDULE Sr.No. Description of goods 1 Oil; engine including Diesel oil engine upto 15HP 2 Drip Irrigation Equipments 3 Sprinkleers 4 Micro Irrigation System Equipments 5 Tractor's Trolley 6. The first entry in the said schedule itself pertains to Oil Engine including Diesel Oil Engine upto 15 HP. The remaining entries were Drip Irrigation Equipments, Sprinkleers, Micro Irrigation System Equipments and Tractor's Trolley. 7. In essence, entry-42A pertained to agricultural inputs. However, for being included in entry-42A, such agricultural inputs had to be those which may be specified by the State Government by a notification published in the official gazette. Essentially therefore, for a product to fall within entry-42A, it had to be an agricultural input. The question such agricultural input being notified in official gazette by the Government for such purpose would come later. The entry 'Oil Engine including Diesel Oil Engine upto 15 HP' therefore, would have to be understood in such context. The entry cannot be picked in isolation out of context and ....
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....ical variations and cognate expressions would include floriculture, horticulture, the raising of crops, grass or garden produce, and grazing. By definition the activities of dairy farming, poultry farming, stock breeding or the mere cutting of wood or grass or gathering of fruits are excluded from such expression. The term 'agriculturist' is defined as to mean a person who cultivates land personally for the purpose of agriculture. The term 'to cultivate' is defined as to mean to carry on any agricultural operation and the term 'to cultivate personally' is defined as to mean to cultivate on one's own account; by one's own labour; or by the labour of one's family, or by servants on wages payable in cash or kind (but not in crop share), or by hired labour under one's personal supervision or the personal supervision of any member of one's family. 10. It can thus be seen that term 'agriculture' and the related terms have reference to cultivation of land. It would include floriculture, horticulture, the raising of crops, grass or garden produce, and grazing. All these activities would be in connection with the soil. By no stretch of im....
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....o, around and from the site, of declared chemicals and their feedstock or product chemicals formed from them, as appropriate (Chemical Weapons Convention Act (34 of 2000), (verification annex) 6(b)] "Plant" means the fixtures, machinery, tools, apparatus, appliances etc., necessary to carry on any trade or mechanical business, or any mechanical operation or process'. Fixtures, implements, machinery used in industrial process (S.2(b)(xii), Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act (46 of 1948)]; a young tree, vine or shrub lately planted or suitable for planting (S.14(v), Central Sales Tax Act (74 of 1956)] The building, machinery, etc. taken together that are used in a unit of industrial production. (Business Term)" 13. The term 'plant' in common parlance has thus acquired a definite meaning and would normally mean a self-contained area, structure or building containing one or more units with infrastructure such as an administrative section or storage or a laboratory, a building machinery etc. taken together that are used in the unit of industrial production are also categorized as plant. The fishing boat would certainly not fall within this descript....
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.... observations were made however, in the background of the provisions of the Income-tax Act in the context of depreciation allowance in terms of Section 32 of the Income-tax Act. Section 43 of the Income-tax Act,1961 defines the term 'plant' in wide terms providing that plant would include ships, vehicles, books, scientific apparatus and surgical equipments used for the purpose of the business. Thus, by a specific definition the term 'plant' has been given a wide meaning. The VAT Act does not contain any such expanding definition and it would not be possible to import a definition from another statute and to expand the term beyond its common connotation. 15. The entry-58A refers to plant and machinery and not plant or machinery. Accepting the contention of the assessee that the entry would include either plant or machinery would expand the scope beyond what the entry seeks to convey. Every piece of machinery whether part of a plant or not would come within its fold. When we hold that the boat is not a plant, an engine per-se which may be machine would not fit the description of said entry-58A. Shri Hemani however contended that such an interpretation would not be co....