State Of West Bengal & Ors V.
Washi Ahmed [1977] Insc 78 (7 March 1977)
BHAGWATI, P.N.
BHAGWATI, P.N.
FAZALALI, SYED MURTAZA
CITATION: 1977 AIR 1638 1977 SCR (3) 149 1977
SCC (2) 246
CITATOR INFO :
R 1979 SC 300 (3,4) RF 1986 SC 626 (12) F
1989 SC 622 (4) R 1992 SC 224 (10)
ACT:
Taxing statute--Principles of construction of
words in a taxing statute--Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, Schedule I,
Item 6--"Green ginger",whether means a "vegetable" falling
within the category of goods described as "vegetables, green or dried
commonly known as subji, tarkari or sak" and thus exempt from tax
liability.
HEADNOTE:
Section 6(1) of the Bengal Finance (Sales
Tax) Act 1941 exempts from tax liability "vegetables, green or dried
commonly known as subji, tarkari or sak" when not sold in sealed
containers. The Sales Tax Authorities levied sales tax on "green
ginger" sold by the respondents, taking the view that inasmuch as green
ginger is. used to add flavour and taste to food. it is not "vegetable
commonly known as subji, tarkari or sak". A writ petition challenging the
validity of the orders of assessment was allowed by the Calcutta High Court
which held that green ginger is vegetable within the meaning of that expression
as used in Item 6 of the First Schedule to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act,
1941.
Dismissing the State appeals by Special Leave
the Court,
HELD: (1) Green ginger is included. within
the meaning of the words "vegetables---commonly known as subji, tarkarior
sak" in Item 6 of Schedule I and its sales are exempt from tax under s. 6
of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941. [152 D] (2) The word
"vegetable" though not defined in the Act, being a word of everyday
use, must be construed not in any technical sense, nor from any botanical point
of view but as understood m common parlance i.e. denoting class of vegetables
which are grown in a kitchen garden or in a farm and are used for the table.
The word "vegetable" in Item 6 of Schedule I to the Act, so
construed, by giving its popular sense meaning, "that sense which people
conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would
attribute to it" denotes those classes of vegetables which are grown in a
kitchen garden or in a farm and are used for the table. Green ginger obviously
is a vegetable grown in a kitchen garden or in a farm and it is used for the
table.
It may not be used as a principal item of the
meal, but it certainly forms part of the meal as a subsidiary item.
Green ginger is generally regarded as included
within the meaning of the word "vegetable" as understood in common
parlance. 1[150 F-H, 151 G-H, 152 A] Ramavatar Badhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales
Tax Officer Akola, A.I.R. 1961 S.C. 1325; M/s. Motipur Zamindary Co.
Ltd. v. State of Bihar A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 660,
applied.
Madhya Pradesh Pan Merchants' Association,
Santra Market, Nagpur v. State of Madhya Pradesh 7 S.T. Cases 99 at 102,
referred to.
Grenfell v. I.R.C. (1876) 1 Ex. D. 242 at
248; Planters Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King (1951) 1 D.L.R. 385;
200 Chests of Tea (1824) 9 Wheaton (U.S.)
430, at 438 quoted with approval.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal
Nos. 15461551 of 1971.
(From 1he Judgment and Order dated 20-12-1968
of the Calcutta High Court in Appeals from Original Orders Nos.
556-559, 571 and 572 of 1967) 150 Lal Narain
Sinha, Sol. General and G.S. Chatterice, for the appellants.
Purushottam Chatterjee and Ratbin Des, for
the respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
BHAGWATI, J.--The short question which arises for determination in these
appeals is whether green ginger falls within the category of goods described as
"vegetables, green or dried, commonly known as "sabji, tarkeri or
ask" in Item (6) of Schedule I to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act,
1941. If it is covered by this description, it would be exempt from sales tax
imposed under the provisions of that Act. The Sales Tax authorities held that
green ginger is used to. add Havour and. taste to food and it is, therefore,
not vegetable commonly known as sabji, tarkeri or ask". The orders of the
Sales Tax authorities were challenged in a writ petition filed under article
226 of the Constitution and a Single Judge of the High Court who. heard the
writ petition disagreed with the view taken by the Sales Tax authorities and
held that green ginger is vegetable within the meaning of that expression as
used in Item (6) of the First Schedule to the Act. This view of the learned
Single' Judge was affirmed by a Division Bench of the High Court on appeal
under clause (15) of the Letters Patent. Hence the present appeal by the State
with special leave obtained from this Court.
The Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941
levies sales tax on the taxable turnover of a dealer computed in accordance
with the provisions of that Act. Section 6, sub-section (1) provides that no
tax shall be payable under the Act on the sale of goods specified in the first
column of Schedule I, subject to the conditions and exceptions, if any, set out
in the corresponding entry in the second column thereof and Item (6) of
Schedule I specifies in the first column "vegetable, green or dried,
commonly known as "Sabji, tarkari or ask" so that no. tax is payable
on the sale of goods falling within this category, subject to the exception set
out in the second column, namely, that they would be liable to bear tax
"when sold in sealed containers." It was common ground in the present
case that green ginger was not sold by the assessee in sealed containers and
the only question which, therefore, requires to be considered is whether green
ginger can be regarded as vegetable commonly known as 'sabji, tarkari or sak'.
Now, the word 'vegetable' is not defined in the Act but it is well settled as a
result of several decisions of this Court of which we may mention only two,
namely, Ram avatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, kola(1) and M/s
Motipur Jamindary Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar(2)) that this word, being a word
of everyday use, must be construed not in any technical sense, nor from any
botanical point of view, but as understood in common parlance. The question
which arose in Ramavatar's case (supra) was whether betel leaves are
"vegetables" (1) A.I.R. 1961 S.C. 1325.
(2) A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 660.
151 and this court held that they are not
included within that term. This Court quoted with approval the following
passage from the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in Madhya Pradesh
Pan Merchants' Association, Santra Market, Nagput v. State of Madhya
Pradesh(1):
"In our opinion, the word
"vegetables" cannot be given the comprehensive meaning the term bears
in natural history and has not been given that meaning in taxing statutes
before.
The term "vegetables" is to be
understood as commonly understood denoting those classes of vegetable matter
which are grown in kitchen gardens and are used for the table.", and
observed that "the word 'vegetable' in taxing statutes is to be understood
as in common parlance i.e. denoting class of vegetables which are grown in a kitchen
garden or in a farm and are used for the table". This meaning of the word
'vegetable' was reiterated by this Court in Motipur zamindary case (supra)
where this Court was called upon to consider whether sugarcane can be regarded
as vegetable and it was held by this Court that sugarcane cannot be said to
fail within the definition of the word 'vegetable'.
It is interesting to note that the same
principle of construction in relation to words used in a taxing statute has
also been adopted in English, Canadian and American courts. Pollock B. pointed
out in Grenfell v. I.R.C.(2) that "if a statute contains language which is
capable of being construed in a popular sense, such a statute is not to be
construed according to the strict or technical meaning of the language contained
in it, but is to be construed in its popular sense, meaning, of course, by the
words "popular sense" that sense which people conversant with the
subjectmatter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it.'"
So also the Supreme Court of Canada said in Planters Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd.
v. The King,(3) while interpreting the words 'fruit' and 'vegetable' in the
Excise Act:
"They are ordinary words in everyday use
and are, therefore, to be construed according to their popular sense".
The same rule was expressed in slightly
different language by Story, J., in 200 Chests of Tea(4) where the learned
Judge said that "the particular words used by the Legislature in the
denomination of articles are to be understood according to the common
commercial understanding of the terms used, and not in their scientific or
technical sense, for the Legislature does "not suppose our merchants to be
naturalists, or geologists, or botanists" ".
It will, therefore, be seen that the word
'vegetable' in Item (6) of Schedule I to the Act must be construed as
understood in common parlance and it must be given its popular sense meaning
"that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the
statute is dealing would attribute to it" and so construed, it denotes
those classes of vegetables which are grown in a kitchen garden or in a farm
and are used for the table. Now, obviously green ginger is a vegetable (1) 7
S.T.C. 99 at 102.
(2) (1876) 1 Ex. D. 242 at 248.
(3) (1951) 1 D.L.R. 385.
(4) (1824), 9 Wheaton (U.S.) 430 at 438.
11--240SCI/77 152 grown in a kitchen garden
or in a farm and is used for the table. It may not be used as a principal item
of the meal but it certainly forms part of the meal as a subsidiary item. It is
an item which is ordinarily sold by a vegetable vendor and both the vegetable
vendor who every day deals in vegetables and the housewife who. daily goes to
the market to purchase vegetables would unhesitatingly re and 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 vegetables 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 a part, 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 "vegetables--commonly
known as sabji, tarkari or sak" in Item (6) of Schedule I and its sales
must be held to be, exempt from tax under section 6 of the Act.
The result is that the appeals fail and are
dismissed with costs. Costs will be only m one set.
S.R. Appeals dismissed.
Back
