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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

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PETITIONER:

INDO INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES

Vs.

RESPONDENT:

COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX, UTTAR PRADESH.

DATE OF JUDGMENT25/03/1981

BENCH:

TULZAPURKAR, V.D.

BENCH:

TULZAPURKAR, V.D.

VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)

SEN, AMARENDRA NATH (J)

CITATION:

1981 AIR 1079 1981 SCR (3) 294

1981 SCC (2) 528 1981 SCALE (1)582

CITATOR INFO :

R 1985 SC1387 (11)

R 1985 SC1644 (7)

RF 1986 SC1730 (8)

RF 1988 SC1087 (8)

RF 1991 SC 999 (14,15)

ACT:

Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948, Entry No. 39 of the

First Schedule thereto-"Hypodermic clinical syringes"-

whether a glass ware.

HEADNOTE:

Upto November 30, 1973, there were two competing

entries in the First Schedule to the U. P. Sales Tax Act,

1948, so far as the item "hypodermic clinical syringes" is

concerned, namely, Entry 39 which ran: "Glass wares other

than hurricane lantern chimneys, optical lenses and bottles"

and Entry 44 which ran: "Hospital equipment and apparatus"

and for an item falling under the former the rate of tax was

10% while under the latter the rate of tax was 4% and for an

unclassified item the rate was 3-1/2% From December 1, 1973

onwards Entry 44 was deleted and, therefore, if the clinical

syringes did not fall within entry 39 it became an

unclassified item under section 3A(2A) of the U.P. Sales Tax

Act, 1948 and the rate of tax was 7%. In view of this

position that obtained for the relevant periods during the

assessment year 1973-74 the appellant-assessee had claimed

before the assessing authorities that its turnover in

respect of syringes for the period up to November 30, 1973

was liable to tax at 3-1/2%, as an unclassified item or in

the alternative at 4% as "hospital equipment" under Entry 44

and its turnover for the period from December 1, 1973 to

March 31, 1974 was liable to be taxed at 7% as an

unclassified item. But, negativing its contentions the

entire turnover was held to be taxable at the rate of 10% on

the basis that clinical syringes fell within the expression

"glass ware" occurring in Entry 39 and hence the appeal by

special leave on the question whether hypodermic clinical

syringes could be regarded as glass ware.

Allowing the appeal, the Court

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HELD: 1. The assessee’s turnover up to November 30,

1973 will fall under Entry 44 dealing with "hospital

equipment" and the same would be taxable at the rate of 4%

and its turnover from December 1, 1974 will be taxable at

the rate of 7% as an unclassified item. [298 H]

2: 1. It is well settled that in interpreting items in

statutes like the Excise Tax Acts or Sales Tax Acts, whose

primary object is to raise revenue and for which purpose

they classify diverse products, articles and substances

resort should be had not to the scientific and technical

meaning of the terms or expressions used but to their

popular meaning, that is to say, the meaning attached to

them by those dealing in them. If any term or expression has

been defined in the enactment then it must be understood in

the sense in which it is defined

295

but in the absence of any definition being given in the

enactment the meaning of the term in common parlance or

commercial parlance has to be adopted. [297 C-D]

Ramavatar Budhiaprasad etc. v. Assistant Sales Tax

Officer, Akola, [1961] 1 SCR 297 and Commissioner of Sales

Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh, [1967] 2

SCR 720, followed.

2 : 2. The clinical syringes which the assessee

manufactures and sells cannot be considered as "glass ware"

falling within Entry 39 of the First Schedule of the Act.

(a) In commercial sense, glass ware would never comprise

articles like clinical syringes, thermometers, lactometers,

and