The term "cast iron" as used in the entry relating to cast iron in section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and Schedule III of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 does not include cast iron castings.

( 1 ) THIS revision under section 22 (1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957, is filed by the assessee against the judgment of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 5/08/1988, in Tribunal Appeal No. 714 of 1987. The relevant assessment year is 1980-81 and the assessing authority, i. e. , the Commercial Tax Officer, had granted exemption from State sales tax in respect of sales by the assessee of C. I. specials, bends, ties, tail pieces, manhole covers, etc. The Deputy Commissioner, however, in exercise of his powers under section 20 of the Act, after giving notice to the assessee held that the exemption granted on the turnover in respect of these items was not correct and levied tax on it. The assessee carried the matter in appeal to the Tribunal, which has dismissed this and another appeal of the same assessee for another assessment year by a common judgment. The Tribunal has relied upon its several previous decisions on this question.

( 2 ) THE controversy is about the interpretation of the entry relating to an item of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and it is useful to extract it :"14. Certain goods to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce.- It is hereby declared that the following goods are of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce :- (i) to (iii ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (iv) iron and steel, that is to say, - (i) pig iron and cast iron including ingot moulds, bottom plates, iron scrap, cast iron scrap, runner scrap and iron skull scrap; (ii ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "

( 3 ) THE Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act provides for levy of tax on the declared goods in accordance with its section 6 read with Schedule III. Item 2 (i) of Schedule III is identical to the entry in section 14 of the Central Act referred to above.

( 4 ) THE counsel for the petitioner has also referred to (1) letter No. 24/14/76-ST, Department of Revenue and Banking dated 28/02/1977; (2) letter from Government of India in F. No. 24/10/80-CT dated 31/01/1984 and (3) Order of the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued under section 42 (2) of the State Act in G. O. Ms. No. 383, Revenue (S) Department dated April 17, 198 which are extracted hereunder : (1) "letter No. 24/14/76-ST, Department of Revenue and Banking dated February 28, 1977. To The Finance/revenue Secretaries of all State Governments/union Territories. Subject : Clarification as to whether the term cast iron mentioned in section 14 (iv) (i) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, would cover iron castings. In continuation of the marginally noted communication and with reference to this department s letter No. 24/3/73, dated 20/11/1973, I am directed to say that the question whether the expression cast iron used in section 14 (iv) (i) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, will include cast iron castings has been re-examined in consultation with the Director-General of Technical Development, Chief Chemist and the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. This department has been advised that the existing expression cast iron in the aforesaid section will cover cast iron castings also. Yours faithfully, Sd/- O. P. MEHRA, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India. " (2) "the Government of India in their letter F. No. 24/10/80-CT dated 31/01/1984, clarified after consulting the Ministry of Law and Director-General, Technical Development, that cast iron castings are covered under the term cast iron . The reference read as under : According to the Supreme Court judgment in State of Tamil Nadu v. Pyare Lal Malhotra [1976] 37 STC 319 the fact that the substance or raw material out of which it is made has also been taxed in some other form, when it was sold as a separate commercial commodity, would make no difference for the purposes of the law of sales tax. The object appears to us to be to tax sale of goods of each variety and not the sale of the substance out of which they are made. Therefore, even withou

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