The main legal principle established is that the common usage and perception of goods, as well as the burden of proof in tax matters, are crucial in interpreting tax legislation.

K. SHIVASHANKAR BHAT, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner in all the revision petitioner was assessed under section 5 (1) of the Karnataka sales Tax Act, 1957 ("the Act"), regarding the sale of articles called "medicinal oxygen" and "nitrous oxide" used for the purpose of anaesthesia, by the Assistant Commissioner of commercial Taxes, for the years 1973-74 to 1976-77. The Deputy Commissioner of Commercial taxes, however, invoked his power under section 21 of the Act and held that the classification was wrong and treated the oxygen as falling within entry 121 of the Second Schedule to the treated the Act. This order of the Deputy Commissioner was affirmed by the Karnataka appellate Tribunal. Hence these revision petitions.

( 2 ) THE short question for consideration is, whether the oxygen called "medicinal oxygen" falls within entry 121 of the Second Schedule ? The said entry reads as follows : "industrial gas, such as oxygen, Thirteeen per cemt". acetylene, nitrogen and the like.

( 3 ) ACCORDING to Sri S. G. Sundaraswamy, the learned counsel for the petitioner, this entry will have to be confined to the gases which are used for industrial purpose and, therefore, considered generally as industrial gases, while Sri M. R. Achar, learned counsel for the respondent, contended that every gas called "oxygen", etc. , enumerated as industrial gas in entry 121, has to be treated as an industrial gas.

( 4 ) THE learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the "medicinal oxygen" is commercially different from an industrial oxygen, being entirely purified for the purpose of medical use unlike an industrial oxygen. Even the container of a medicinal oxygen is differentiated by a different cylinder having a different colour from the cylinder containing industrial oxygen. The heading of entry 121 itself indicated that the gas that falls within that entry should be for industrial purposes and the enumeration of some gases following the words "such as" is only indicative of the gas content of an industrial gas.

( 5 ) THE rule of construction governing sales tax legislation is now well-settled. The meaning attributable to words describing goods, transaction in which tax is attracted, depends on the meaning as understood in common parlance. Traders and uses of articles of commerce do not go by scientific or technical meanings; most of them are not even aware of the process of manufacture involved and the scientific technicalities guiding the distinctions between one article and another.

( 6 ) IN Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax v. G. S. Pai and Co. AIR1980 sc 611 , (1980 )1 SCC142 , [1980 ]1 SCR938 , [1980 ]45 STC58 (SC ), 1980 (12 )UJ210 (SC ), one question was, whether ornaments and other gold articles were covered by the description "bullion and spice", another question was whether G.. pipes fall within the description of "water supply and sanitary fittings". The principle of construction of these words was stated by the supreme Court at page 61 off STC (612 of AIR) :

". . . . . . Now there is one cardinal rule of interpretation which was always to be borne in mind while interpreting entries in sales tax legislation and it is that the words used in the entries must be construed not in any technical sense nor from the scientific point of view but as understood in common parlance. We must give the words used by the Legislature their popular sense meaning 'that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statue is dealing would attribute to it'. "

( 7 ) GOLD articles are distinct from bullion and therefore, those articles were held as not falling within the description of "bullion or specie". As to the second question, the Supreme Court observed :

". . . . . . . The G.. pipes sold by the assessee would, therefore, fall within the description of 'sanitary fittings' only if it can be shown the burden of so doing would be on the Revenue, that they were meant for use in lavatories, urinals or bath-rooms. "

( 8 ) THE approach indicate

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