Glass sheets are classified as primary products, not goods made of glass, under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958.

1. The order in this case will also govern the disposal of Miscellaneous Civil Cases Nos. 79, 80, 81 and 92, all of 1984.

2. These are all references under S.44 of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). The question of law, which has been referred in all these cases by the Board of Revenue to this Court for its opinion is as follows :
"Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, glass sheets will be assessed to tax under entry No. 1 of Part VI of Schedule II appended to the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 and not under entry No. 26 of Part II of Schedule II ?"

3. Briefly, the facts giving rise to these references are that while framing assessment of the assessees, who had effected sale of glass sheets, the assessing authority rejected the contention advanced on behalf of the assessees that assessment should be made under the residuary entry and not under entry No. 26 of Part II of Schedule II of the Act. The appeals preferred by the assessees before the appellate authority were dismissed. On further appeal, the Board of Revenue held that glass sheets would be exigible to tax under the residuary entry and not under entry No. 26 of Part II of Schedule II. Aggrieved by the order passed by the Board of Revenue, the department sought reference and it is at the instance of the department that the aforesaid references have been made.

4. At the time of hearing, the Division Bench noted that in respect of the question referred by the Board, there were conflicting decisions of this Court reported in Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. Bombay Glass House 1986 (63) STC 350 , and Commissioner of Sales Tax, M.P. v. Glass & Tiles House 1989 (74) STC 26 . The Division Bench, therefore, referred the matter to a Full Bench and that is how these references have come up before us for hearing.

5. Before we proceed to appreciate the contentions advanced on behalf of the parties, it would be useful to refer to entry No. 26 (now entry No. 36) of Part II of Schedule II of the Act. That entry is as follows :
"All types of crockery, goods made of china and tamchina, goods made of glass and glassware but excluding glass chimneys of hurricane lanterns and kerosene lamps."
The short question for consideration is whether glass sheets fall within the ambit of the expression "goods made of glass and glassware."

6. Now, the expression "goods made of glass and glassware" is wide enough to include not only such articles made of glass as are known as glassware in the popular sense but all goods and articles made out of glass. The decisions reported in Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Dawoodbhoy M. Tayabally , Commissioner of Sales Tax, Delhi Administration v. Baluja Glass Company, Indo International Industries v. Commissioner of Sales Tax, U.P. and Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Mohd. Ayub & Sons and relied upon by the learned counsel for the assessee, deal with the ambit of the expression "glassware" alone. It is true that a glass sheet cannot be held to be glassware in the popular sense, as held in the aforesaid decisions but the question that still remains for consideration is whether glass sheets can be held to be goods made of glass.

7. There is undoubtedly distinction between "glass" and "goods or articles made of glass". On the basis of material placed before it, the Board has observed as follows :
"Glass is produced by fusing together the ingredients (oxides of silicon, boron, or phosphorus, etc.) and cooling the product rapidly to prevent crystallisation. The hot red glass in liquid form may be blown to produce articles like cups, water jugs, electric lamp shells, bottle chimneys and other crockery items, etc.,