( 1 ) THIS is a reference under section 34 (1) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act 1959 at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax Ahmedabad. The opponents are dealers in hessian and have a place of business at Ahmedabad. The opponents effected a sale of hessian to Messrs. Bihari Mills Ltd. Ahmedabad under their bill dated 12th July 1958. On 11th August 1958 the opponents made an application under sec. 27 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act 1953 and requested the Additional Collector of Sales Tax Northern Division Ahmedabad to determine the question whether the said sale of hessian was exempt from tax under the Bombay Sales Tax Act 1953 In the said application it was stated that the hessian sold by them was not lying with them on 12th December 1957 and that it did not form part of any other dealers non-dutiable stock of hessian. In the statement of the case it has been mentioned that it was not lying with them on 15th December 1959. It is agreed by both the parties before us that the correct date is 12th December 1957 and not 15th December 1959 as stated in the statement of the case. The Additional Collector of Sales Tax by his order dated 19th August 1959 held that tax was payable on this sale of hessian at the rate of two naye paise in the rupee by way of sales tax and two naye paise in the rupee by way of general sales tax under the Bombay Sales Tax Act 1953 The matter was carried further before the Sale Tax Tribunal. The Sales Tax Tribunal by a majority judgment held that the aforesaid sale was exempt from payment of sales tax and general sales tax. The matter has now come up before us for the determination of the following question :-WHETHER on a proper construction `hessian is covered by entry 1 of Schedule I of the Bombay Sales Tax Laws (Special Exemptions) Act 1957 and whether the sale of hessian which is the subject of the reference is taxable under the Bombay Sales Tax Act 1953 ?

( 2 ) THE Bombay Sales Tax Laws (Special Exemptions) Act 1957 by sec. 4 provides inter alia as under :-NOTWITHSTANDING anything contained in relevant sales tax law or any rules notifications or orders made or issued thereunder no tax shall be payable under the relevant sales tax law on the sale or purchase of any scheduled goods effected on and after the appointed day.

( 3 ) THE appointed day is the 13th of December 1957 The expression scheduled goods has been defined by sec. 2 (7) of the Act to mean the goods specified in Schedule I. When we turn to Schedule I the following amongst other goods have been specified therein :-ALL varieties of cloth manufactured in mills or on power-looms excluding pure silk cloth.

( 4 ) THE result of the aforesaid provisions is that all varieties of cloth manufactured in mills excluding pure silk cloth are exempt from sales tax. The question that falls for consideration is whether hessian could be regarded as cloth manufactured in mills. It is not disputed that hessian is manufactured in mills. The only question debated before us is whether hessian could be regarded as a variety of cloth within the meaning of Schedule I to the Bombay Sales sax Laws (Special Exemptions) Act 1957 (hereinafter for brevity sake referred to as the exempting act ). Our attention has been drawn to the dictionary meaning of the word cloth. In Websters New International Dictionary Second Edition (1959) the word cloth has been stated to mean a. A pliable fabric woven felted or knitted from any filament; commonly fabric of woven cotton woolen silk rayon or linen fibre used for garments etc; b. A particular kind of fabric distinguished by a simple weave in which the warp and weft threads pass over and under each other alternately; c. A piece of fabric of a kind size texture adapted for washing wiping or polishing something specified; as shoe cloth window cloth. In the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary Third Edition (1959) the word cloth is shown to bear the following meanings:-A fabric woven felted or otherwise formed of filaments as