RAMACHANDRA IYER, J.

The petitioner owns a factory at Erode wherein cloth is manufactured with the aid of nine power-looms. Originally cloth manufactured on power-looms and sold by a dealer was liable to sales tax at the general rate fixed in section 3(1)(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939. Act XX of 1954, which came into effect from 23rd August, 1954, imposed an additional tax of Re. 0-1-3 every rupee of the turnover on certain verities of cloth, namely

"cloth, whether of silk, artificial silk, wool, flax, or any other material not being cotton, made in mills, in which the count of warp yarn employed (excluding the border) is 17s or finer (whether single or folded)." *

It will be noticed that the additional tax levied under the provisions of the Amending Act XX of 1954 was in respect of mill products where the warp yarn employed was above 17s or finer. Cloths manufactured by power-looms are not specifically mentioned in the section. Prima facie they appear to have been excluded from the operation of the section. This Act was later amended by Act XL of 1954 which substituted the following in the place of the one above extracted :

"Mill cloth (whether of silk, ar