JUDGMENT

1. This is a case stated under Sec. 11 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as he Act. The question referred is :

"Whether powerloom would fall under the term cloth manufactured by mills mentioned at Sl. 2, of List I of Part I of the Schedule issued under Not. No. ST-117/X-923-1948, dated June 8, 1948."

2. The relevant year of assessment is 1950-51. The dealer manufactures cloth on power looms and also imports cloth. The dealer claimed that the cloth manufactured on power looms did not fall within Serial No. 2 of the notification No. ST-117'X-923-1948, dated June 8, 1948, issued under the powers conferred under Sec. 3-A of the Act. The relevant portion of this notification reads: -

"........ proceeds of sale of goods entered in column 2 of the schedule hereto shall not be included in the turnover of any dealer except at the point in the series of sales by successive dealers mentioned in column 4 thereof under the circumstances shown in column 2 thereof..........."

3. In other words the claim of the dealer was that the cloth manufactured on powerlooms was not the "cloth manufactured by mills," and, therefore, it was not liable to sales tax at the rate of six pies per rupee but at the general rate of sales tax which is three pies per rupee. The Sales Tax Officer rejected the claim and assessed the dealer who was the manufacturer of powerloom cloth at six pies per rupee. The Judge (Appeals) Sales Tax, however, accepted the claim of the dealer and was of the view that power loom cloth did not fall within the category of mill made cloth, and, therefore, remanded the case to the Sales Tax Officer with the direction that the turnover of powerloom cloth should be determined and taxed at 3 pies per rupee. Aggrieved by this order the Commissioner of Sales Tax U.P. filed a revision contending that the power loom cloth was taxable at 6 pies per rupee at single point as mill made-cloth. The Judge (Revisions) Sales Tax following a decision of the Madras High Court in Dhandapani Power Loom Factory v. The Commercial Tax Officer, (1961) 12 S.T.C. 304 held that a powerloom factory is not a mill and power loom cloth is generally not associated with mill cloth. Hence, this reference at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax.

4. Neither the U.P. Sales Tax Act nor the said notification in any way define what a "mill" is or what is the meaning to be attributed to the words "cloth manufactured by mills". In these circumstances, following the general rule of interpretation, these words must be considered according to the common understanding of mankind. It would, therefore, be legitimate to turn to the dictionary meaning of the word "mill". In Webster's New International Dictionary, Volume 2 the meaning of "mill", inter alia is : "a building or collection of building with machinery by which the processes of manufacturing are carried on; as a cotton mill; powermill; a rolling mill". Therefore, according to the dectionary two things are required, (1) a building, and (2) a machinery, in order to constitute a "mill". When we turn to the meaning of "machine" in the dectionary. inter alia, it is stated :

". . . .Popularity and in the wider mechanical sense a machine is more or less complex combination of mechanical parts, as levers, gears, sprocket wheels, pulleys, shafts and spindles, ropes, chains, and hands, cams and other turning and sliding pieces, springs, confined fluids etc. together with the frame work and fastenings, supporting and connecting them, as when it is designed to operate upon material to change it in some pre-conceived and definite manner. . . . ." Looms which are merely worked by power would hardly satisfy the aforesaid dictionary meaning of a machine. In any event, there is no material on