RAMANUJAM, J.

This is an appeal filed against the order of the Board of Revenue cancelling the order passed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and restoring the order of the assessing authority levying a penalty of Rs. 12, 579 under section 10A of the Central Sales Tax Act. The assessees are manufacturers of textile machinery. They had imported asbestos sheets worth Rs. 96, 756.65 from outside the State and had issued C forms in respect of the said purchase of asbestos sheets. The assessing authority took the view that the registration certificate issued to the assessees by the registering authority constituted under that Act did not enable them to issue C form certificates in respect of asbestos sheets and that the issue of C form certificates by the assessees was under a misrepresentation that they are entitled to purchase asbestos sheets under the registration certificates issued to them. He, therefore, invoked the provisions of section 10A and levied the penalty holding that the assessees have committed an offence under section 10(b) of the Act.

There was an appeal by the assessees to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, who set aside the order holding that for an offence under section 10(b) it should be clearly established that there was the necessary mens rea on the part of the assessees while giving the C form certificates and that on the materials on record it cannot be said that the assessees issued the C form certificates under a false representation. According to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the assessees were under the bona fide impression that asbestos sheets purchased and used for the erection of plant and equipment will come under the term "sheets" occurring in item 11 of column 16(b) in the registration certificate issued to the assessees. Having found that mens rea on the part of the assessees has not been established, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner cancelled the order of penalty on the ground that an offence under section 10(b) has not been made out.Thereafter, the Board of Revenue called for the records of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and initiated suo motu revisional proceedings after giving a show cause notice to the assessees. The Board of Revenue ultimately revised the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and restored the order of penalty levied by the assessing authority on the ground that the assessees could not have had any genuine belief that the asbestos sheets purchased by them would be one of the items referred to in the registration certificate. According to the Board of Revenue, the word "sheets" occurring in item 11 of column 16(b) in the registration certificate will take in only sheets of a specified category like plastic, moulding and insulating materials and sheets and that the word will not include asbestos sheets in question. The Board of Revenue was not inclined to accept the assessee's case that they had genuinely believed that the registration certificate covered asbestos sheets as well. The Board of Revenue proceeded on its interpretation of the entries in the registration certificate that asbestos sheets cannot be included within the word "sheets" and held that the assessee are not justified in construing the word "sheets" against the plain language used in the registration certificate and that the word "sheets" should be given the ordinary meaning which a prudent person would give to it. The entire reasoning given by the Board of Revenue in its order shows that the word "sheets" occurring in the registration certificate cannot be reasonably construed to include asbestos sheets and that such an interpretation as suggested by the assessees would be unreasonable. The Board of Revenue also says that the assessees should have acquainted themselves with the true position under the Act and the Rules and the assessees' interpretation of the word "sheets" occurring in the registration certificate will be contrary to the provisions of the Act an