2000 (4) TMI 39

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....evy a tax on the entry of goods into a local area in Madhya Pradesh for consumption, use or sale therein [hereinafter referred to as 'the Act']. The respondent is a dealer in coconuts. Apart from oil he was assessed to entry tax on 'watery coconuts'under the Act. The assessee claimed in the appeal that 'copra' and 'coconut' are commercially two different commodities and 'watery coconut' is not liable to payment to entry tax, However, the appellate authority rejected this claim. The matter was carried in second appeal to the Tribunal unsuccessfully. Thereafter, the respondent questioned the correctness of the orders of the Tribunal and the other authorities before the High Court. The High Court considered the Entry at item No. 5 which reads ....

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....' undergoes a natural process of ripening to a coconut and thereafter it ceases to be a 'tender coconut' and so includes both dehusked coconut or coconut without husk and while dehusked coconut is known as 'copra', coconut with husk is known as 'watery coconut'. She therefore, submitted that 'watery coconut' falls within the scope of Entry 5 to attract tax. 3.  The view taken by the High Court in this case has lost sight of the expression in the opening clause of the entry 'Oilseeds, that is to say'. The phrase 'that is to say' has been the subject matter of interpretation by this Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Pyarelal Malhotra, 1983 (13) E.L.T. 1582 (S.C.) = 1976 (37) STC 311. The expression 'that is to say' is descriptive, enume....

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....e this Court was concerned with the entry as contained in the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act. The entry therein merely contained 'coconuts' in the Third Schedule and 'tender coconuts' in the Fourth Schedule which are useful only for drying purposes which was exempt from tax. An Explanation was added to the Third Schedule to state that the expression 'coconuts' would mean fresh or dried coconuts, shelled or unshelled including copra, but excluding tender coconuts. Again by another amendment another Explanation was added to state that the expression 'coconuts' in the Schedule would mean dried coconuts, shelled or unshelled, including copra but excluding tender coconuts. Thus this Court was concerned in that case with two sets of entries....