The sale of mica produced or manufactured in Bihar is subject to sales tax under the Bihar Sales Tax Act.

Judgment

KAPUR,, J.

( 1 ) THIS is an appeal against the judgment and order of the High court of Patna in a Sales Tax Reference made under section 25 (1) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act of 1947 amended by Bihar Act VI of 1949.

( 2 ) THE appellant is an incorporated company carrying on its business at Domchanch in the Hazaribagh District in the State of Bihar. It was assessed to sales tax in regard to the four quarters of the assessment year 1948-49 under section 13 (4) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act. According to the Sales Tax Officer the tax was leviable on its sales of mica which was produced or manufactured in Bihar. Before the Sales Tax Officer it was unsuccessfully contended on behalf of the appellant that the Amendment Act having come into force on October i, 1948, it could not affect the sales of mica before that date, but this plea was not accepted by that Officer and the tax was levied for all the quarters. The appellant appealed to the Commissioner of Sales Tax, but the appeal was dismissed. The matter was then taken in revision to the Board of Revenue and was allowed on the ground that the process of mining mica which was the commodity sold by the appellant company could not be said to be a process of production or manufacture within the meaning of section 2 (g) of the amended Act. The Board held that splitting up of mica did not constitute a process of manufacture because the constitution of the mica remained just the same, the only difference being that there was change in its dimensions. Against that order at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax a case was stated to the High court and the following question was referred :-"whether the assessee has been rightly taxed under the newly added proviso to section 2 (g) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act for the two quarters from the 1st of October, 1948, to the 31st of March, 1949. "

( 3 ) TWO points were decided by the High court, (1) as to whether there was proper reference, and (2) whether it could be said that the sale was of goods which had been manufactured in the State of Bihar. Onboth these points the decision was against the appellant and this appeal is directed against that judgment and order.

( 4 ) THE only question which has been raised in this court is whether the transactions of the appellant company fall within the definition the word "sale" under section 2 (g) of the amended Bihar Sales Tax Act. That section provides:" sale means, with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, any transfer of property in goods for cash or deferred payment or other valuable consideration, including a transfer of property in goods involved in the execution of contract but does not include a mortgage, hypothecation, charge or pledge:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PROVIDED further that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Indian Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (III of 1930), the sale of any gods

( 5 ) THE decision of the question raised depends upon whether the process which is used by the appellant would fall within the meaning of the words "produced or manufactured in Bihar". The appellant company is carrying on mica mining operations by which crude mica is taken out of the mine and processed into split mica which is a commercial commodity. What happens is that there is winning of crude mica from the earth which is split into thinner plates and cut into commercial sizes. The process has been set out in the Mica Enquiry Committee Report of 1944-45 at page 6 as follows:-"mica is found imbedded in the pegmatite vein in the form of what are known as books of mica. These are crystals of mica and comprise the mineral in its crude form. They may vary in size from a few cubic inches to big blocks, measuring two to three hundred square inches in the place of the laminati