The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the terms 'consumption', 'manufacture', and 'other goods' under S.5A (1) (a) of the General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

1. S.5A of the General Sales Tax Act, 1963 reads: "5A. Levy of purchase tax.

(1) Every dealer who, in the course of his business, purchases from a registered dealer or from any other person any goods the sale or purchase of which is liable to tax under this Act, in circumstances in which no tax is payable under S.5. and either

(a) consumes such goods in the manufacture of other goods for sale or otherwise; or

(b) disposes of such goods in any manner other than by way of sale in the State; or

(c) despatches them to any place outside the State except as a direct result of sale or purchase in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, shall, whatever be the quantum of the turnover relating to such purchase for a year, pay tax on the taxable turnover relating to such purchase for the year at the rates mentioned in S.5."

(The rest of the section is not material and is omitted.)

The assessee in this case purchased pineapple, washed it, removed the inedible portions, namely, the end, the crown, the skin and the core, sliced it, filled the slices in cans with some sugar added as preservative, sealed under temperature and put into boiling water for sterilisation and thus prepared pineapple slices. It prepared pineapple juice by crushing the pineapple and pressing it after removing the inedible portions. The juice thus obtained was sweetened, filled in cans, sealed under temperature and put in boiling water for sterilisation. It prepared jam and squash with pineapple by well known processes. In respect of these operations of the assessee, for the year 1973-74, purchases of pineapple amounted to Rs. 3,84,138.89. It was conceded before the appellate tribunal that pineapple jam and pineapple squash would attract liability for tax under S.5A; so that in respect of these two things the question of liability no longer survives. Out of the remaining two items, namely, pineapple slices and pineapple juice, the Tribunal found that juice was also covered by S.5A of the Act. The controversy no longer survives, as the assessee has not chosen to canvass the matter further. But it held that the pineapple slices did not fall within the ambit of the section and the turnover in respect of the same was not taxable. This is the only controversy that survives, and is agitated in this tax revision at the instance of the State.

2. The relevant clause in the Section which has application is S.5A (1) (a); and the conditions to be established before liability can be attracted are: (1) that the goods purchased have been consumed; (2) that such consumption was in process of manufacture; and (3) that the manufacture was of other goods for sale. It is necessary to concentrate on the expressions underlined namely "consumption", "manufacture" and "other goods". The last of these is to be noticed only to emphasise that the resultant product must be distinct and different from the goods consumed in the process of manufacture. The expression "consume" has been defined in the Reader's Digest's Great Encyclopaedic Dictionary, Volume I, as to "use up", "to make away with" etc. "Use", itself is defined in Volume II, page 965 as "use up" or "exhaust". Other well-known dictionaries also give practically the same meaning for the term. The expression came in for judicial notice in Anwarkhan Mahboob Co. v. State of Bombay (AIR. 1961 SC. 213) in connection with the explanation to Art.286 (1) of the Constitution, It was observed:

"Reverting to the instance of cotton, mentioned above, it will be proper to hold that when raw cotton is delivered in State A for being ginned in that State, it is delivered for consumption in State A; when ginned cotton is delivered in State B for being spun into yarm, it is delivered for consumption in State B; when yarn is delivered in State C for being woven into cloth in that State, it is delivered for consumption in State C; when woven cloth is delivered in State D for being made by tailor in that State into wearing apparel, there is delivery