SETHURAMAN, J.

This revision petition has been filed to revise the order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal dated 6th August, 1975. The assessee is a firm dealing in leco, firewood and charcoal. During the year 1973-74, the assessee reported total and taxable sales of Rs. 19, 88, 896.20 and Rs. 16, 50, 957.21 respectively. There was a dispute as to the classification of leco. According to the assessee, leco being carbonised lignite briquette was coal which is declared as goods of special importance in inter-State trade and commerce under section 14(i) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, even after its amendment by Act 61 of 1972 with effect from 1st April, 1973. If leco is taken as declared goods then the assessee's sale would be second sales which are not taxable. The assessing authority declined to grant this exemption, and the Appellate Assistant Commissioner confirmed the assessment. The Tribunal, after going elaborately into the question of manufacture of lignite briquettes and also other aspects of the matter, came to the conclusion that leco was declared goods under section 14(i) of the Act. In fact, the Tribunal held that leco was only lignite which is a variety of coal and which was liable to be taxed only on first sales. The short question is whether leco is coal or charcoal.

Section 14(i) of the Central Sales Tax Act declares coal including coke in all its forms but excluding charcoal as being of special importance in inter-State trade and commerce. The Second Schedule of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, contains a description of declared goods in respect of which a single point tax alone is leviable under section 4. The relevant entry therein runs as follows :"Coal, including coke in all its forms, but excluding charcoal."

Therefore, what is sought to be excluded from coal is only charcoal. The Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal has referred to Volume I of Book of Popular Science and at page 408 of the said book it is stated :

"There are four chief ranks, or types of coal. Ranging in the order of their development from peat, they are lignite, subbituminous coal, bituminous coal and anthracite. The four ranks are not clearly distinguished from one another; their composition may vary widely in different places.

The lowest rank of coal, lignite, shows more or less clearly the structure of the original plant matter, including the woody element. That is how it gets its name; for 'lignum' means 'wood' in Latin. Lignite has the lowest percentage of fixed carbon and the highest content of volatile matter and moisture of all the four ranks. It ranges in colour from light brown to very dark brown. The light brown variety is sometimes called brown coal." *

Accepting the above meaning, the commodity in question was taken to be coal and not charcoal. The Government of India at the request of the State Government of Tamil Nadu clarified the issue as to whether lignite was coal. The clarification is as under :

"I am directed to refer to your letter No. 31204/ST/Spl.1/62-4 dated 23rd May, 1962, on the above subject and to say that this Ministry has been advised that 'coal' as defined in the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, would include 'lignite' also.

This Ministry has also been advised that the lignite briquettes would fall within the scope of the term 'coke' used in the Act." *

This communication was circulated by the State Government through the Board of Revenue and the communication dated 25th June, 1963, ran as under :

"In continuation of the Board's reference second cited, I am to state that the lignite and lignite briquettes will come under item 1 of the Second Schedule liable to tax at 2 per cent single point under the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959. Consequent on the amendment of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, enhancing the concessional rate of the Central sales tax from 1 per cent to 2 per cent with effect from 1st April, 1963, the rate of Central sales tax on sales of lignite and lignite briquettes is 2 pe