TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1987 (12) TMI 55
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....rt, rejecting the appellant's contention that what was sold, being leftovers after the extraction of "poles" and "Ballies" of Eucalyptus (Nilgiri) Trees, was merely 'fire-wood' within the meaning of and attracting entry No. 12 of Part V of Schedule II of the Act, held that the goods were 'Timber' under the said entry 32A. It was, accordingly, held that appellants were liable to pay sales tax at the rate of 16% ad valorem. 2. Special Leave is granted in both the cases. The appeals are taken up for final hearing, heard and disposed of by this common judgment. We have heard Shri G.L. Sanghi, Senior Counsel and Shri A.K. Sanghi for the appellants and Shri T.C. Sharma for the respondents. 3. Though, the notifications inviting tenders and certain other documents appear to describe the goods variously as "eucalyptus fire-wood stacks", "eucalyptus wood stacks", "Nilgiri fuel wood" etc., the nomenclature is not determinative or conclusive of the nature of the "goods" which will have to be determined by the application of certain well-settled principles, guiding the matter. Three entries as they then stood in the Schedule to the 'Act' were pointed out by learned Counsel as the possible al....
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....eral rule of England, oak, ash and elm are timber, provided they are of the age of 20 years and upwards, provided also they are not so old as not to have a reasonable quantity of usable wood in them, sufficient... to make a good post. Timber, that is, the kind of tree which may be called timber, may be varied by local custom. There is what is called the custom of the country, that is of a particular country or division of a country, and it varies in two ways. First of all, you may have trees called timber by the custom of the country, beach in some countries, hornbeam in others, and even whitethorn and blackthorn, and many other trees, are considered timber in peculiar localities-in addition to the ordinary timber trees. Then again, in certain localities, arising probably from the nature of the soil, the trees of even 20 years old are not necessarily timber, but may go to 24 years, or even to a later period, I suppose, if necessary; and in other places the test of when a tree becomes timber is not its age but its girth". In Shantabai v. State of Bombay & Ors., 1959 SCR 265 this court, referring to the distinctions between 'standing timber' and 'tree' referred to the following lexi....
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....ecifically in the preparation of pulp and sold throughout the state with this specific object. Respondents in their endeavour to controvert appellants' contention that the wood sold was "fire-wood" went on to say that while stacks of fire-wood of similar sizes fetch prices between Rs. 20 to Rs. 80 each, the stacks of the eucalyptus-wood on the other hand, fetch Rs. 300 to Rs. 600 per stack and that, therefore, nobody uses eucalyptus as "fire-wood". The High Court, felt persuaded to the view that the 'wood' sold did not admit of being described as "fire-wood". It reasoned: "Fire-wood in common commercial parlance and as understood by the trade as well as by the consuming public, is not just any wood that can be used as logs of fuel. Every kind of wood is potential firewood, for you can start a fire with any wood. But this is not the test. Firewood is wood of a kind which has attained notoriety as fuel. Nobody who sells fire-wood debarks the wood before sale. Nobody who buys firewood requires them to be shaved and debarked. Purchasers may desire the wood to be cut to size. But that is all. There may be eccentric sellers and eccentric buyers who may indulge their fancies in specialt....
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....not really whether "Eucalyptus" (Nilgiri) Tree is or is not a 'Timber' tree. By every reckoning it is. Eucalyptus is a large, rapid growing, 'evergreen tree of the myrtle family, originally a native of Australia, Tasmania and Malaysia. There are a large number of its species. The ideal species under ideal conditions, it would appear, reaches a height of 370 ft. with a girth of nearly 25 ft. Apart from its utility as a source of gum and medicinal oils, the slow-growing species are especially known for the quality of its timber marked for strength, size and durability (See Encyclopaedia Britannica; 1968: Vol. 8 pages 806, 807; Encyclopaedia American; Vol. 10 pages 648 & 649). But the question is whether the subsidiary parts of the tree sold in heaps after the 'Ballies' and 'poles' are separated, can be called 'Imarathi-Lakdi' or 'Timber'. We think, it would be somewhat of a strain on the popular meaning of the expression 'Timber' with the sense, size and utility implicit in the idea, to call these wood-heaps 'Timber', meant or fit for building purposes. Persons conversant with the subject-matter will not call these wood-heaps 'Timber' whatever else the goods might, otherwise, be. It ....