1 M/s Jammu Iron & Steel Syndicate, Jammu, is a partnership firm engaged in the business of purchase and sale of iron and steel sheets including Galvanized iron sheets. For the accounting period from 1-4-63 to 31-12-63, the Assessing Authority assessed the firm to tax at the rate of 7% on the sales-of Galvanized iron sheets, presumably, treating them as iron goods under entry 48 of the Notification SRO No: 138 dated 28-3-1963, and also imposed a penalty of Rs. 500/-. In revision, the Commissioner Sales Tax held that the sales tax was leviable at 2% for the period from 1-4-63 to 1-8-63 and at 7% for the remaining period. He made an order accordingly. Aggrieved by order, the firm field a writ petition in this court. The writ petition came up for hearing before a learned Single Judge of this Court. By his order dated 10-4-70 the learned Single Judge remanded the case observing as under:

"The learned Commissioner seems to have been quite right in having assessed the tax at 2% for the period from 1-4-63 to 21-8-63, but as he has not applied the same stick-yard for the remaining period of the same year. I think the proper course would be that Respondent No: 1 should consider the matter afresh. I would, therefore, direct that the case be remanded to the Commissioner for its disposal according to law."

2 Acting upon this direction, the Sales Tax Commissioner reconsidered the matter and, by this order dated 28-5-75, again held that the tax was leviable at 7% for the period prior 27-8-63 to 31-12-63. Aggrieved by the order, the firm has filled a writ petition being writ petition No: 18 of 1976, and has challenged the order, In the meantime, the State too has filed an appeal, being L.P.A. No: 24 of 1970, challenging the order o the learned Single Judge. The appeal and the writ petition were heard together and will be disposed of by this common judgment.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the firm contended the G.I. sheets fall within the ambit of entry 48 of the Notification S.R.O. 138 dated 28-3-63 and are liable to sales tax at 2% advalorem. In support of his argument, he relied on the decisions in State of Andhra Pradesh Vs. Sri Durga Hardware Stores (1973 Tax L. R. 2317) and Commissioner of Sales Tax vs. Tata Iron and Steel Co. (U.P. Tax Cases 1975. Allahabad page 104)

Entry 48 in S.R.O. 138 reads thus. "48-Iron and Steel, that is to say:-

(a) pig iron, and iron scrap;

(b) Iron plates sold in the same form in which they are directly produced by the rolling mill.

(c) steel scrap, steeling nots, steel billets,, steel bars and. roads.

(d) (i) steel plates)

(ii) steel sheets) sold in the same form in

(iii) steel bars & )which they are directly tin bars produced by the rolling

(iv) rolleduced stee mill sections

(v) tool alloy steel

4. To the same effect is entry No: 2 in Schedule III to Andhra Pradesh Sales Tax Act (Act No: 6 of 1957). This entry fell for consideration by a Division Bench of the A.P. High Court in the case of Sri Durga Hardware Stores (supra). Their lordships observed:-

"The Entry No: 2 in the Schedule to the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act begins with the words "iron and steel, that is to say......". Those Words are of considerable

importance. They are explanatory of what iron and steel is. All articles enumerated under that head, either in their crude form or in their manufactured stage or in any of the forms listed under the sub-headings (a), (b), (c) and (d) are treated as various forms of iron and steel. The scope and meaning of the words that is to say following land in the Entry No: 21 of List II of the seventh Schedule to the Govt. of India Act, 1935, has been expressed by the Judicial Committee in Meghrai v. Allah Rakhia, AIR 1947 PC 72 as introducing the most general concept rights in or over land.

By a parity of reasoning, the word "that is to say occurring immediately after iron and steel in Entry No; 2 show that the Legislature intended to adopt the most general concept of iron and steel and wanted all forms of iron and

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