INDO INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES versus COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX, UTTAR PRADESH.

Citation: [1981] 3 S.C.R. 294 · Decided: 25-03-1981 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V.D. TULZAPURKAR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 9 judgment(s) · cites 1 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
294 
INDO INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES 
v. 
COMMISSfONER OF SALES TAX, 
UTTAR PRADESH. 
March 25, 1981 
[ ·V.D. TULZAPURKAR, E.S. VENKATARAMIAH AND 
AMRENDRA NATH SEN, JJ. ] 
Uttar Pradesh Sales Tax Act, 1948, Entry Nu. 39 of the First Schedule 
thereto-" Hypodermic clinical syringes"-whether a glass ware. 
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 faJJing under the former 
the rate of tax was 1 (, % while uncier the latter the rate of tax was 4 % and for an 
unclassified item the rate was 3-1/2%. From December l, 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 autho1ities 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 unclassi-
fied item or in the alternative at 4% as "hospital equipment" under Entry 44 and 
its turnover for the period from December I, 1973 to March 31, 1974 was liable 
to be taxed at 7% as an unclassifieci item. But, negativing its contentions the 
entire turnover was held to be taxable at the rate of 10% on the basis that clinical 
syringes fe]J 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 
HELD : ]. The assessee's turnover up to November :•O, 1973 will fall under 
Entry 44 dealing with "hospital <quipmem" 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 : ]. 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 ex-
pressions 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 tren it must be understcod in the sense in which it is defined 
' 
y 
INDO INDUSTRIES v. C.S.T. (Tulzapurkar, J.) 
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,' Ako/a, [1961] 1 
SCR 279 and Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh v. las.want Singh 
Charan Singh, [1967] 2 SCR 720, followed. 
2 : 2. The clinical syringes which the assessee manufactures and sells can-
not be considered as" glass ware" falling within Entry 39 of the First Schedule 
of the Act. (a) Jn commercial sense, glass ware would never comprise articles like 
clinical syringes, thermometers, lactometers, and the like which have specialised 
significance and utility: (b) in popular or commercial parlance a general merchant 
dealing in "glass ware" does not ordinarily deal in articles like clinical syringes, 
thermometers etc. which articles though made of glass, are normally available in 
medical stores or with the manufacturers thereof .like the assessee; (c) it is equally 
unlikely that consumer would ask for such articles from a glass ware shop. 
Further in popular sense when one talks of glass ware such specialised articles 
like clinical syringes do not come up to one's mind. [298 E-F] 
State of Orissa v. Janta Medical Stores, 37 STC 33, approved. 
Commissioner of Sales Tax v. S.S.R. Syringes and Thermometers, 1973 Law 
Diary 178, overruled. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: 
Civil Appeal No. 151 of 
1981. 
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 
16.8.1969 of the Addi. Judge (Revions) Sales Tax, Saharanpur in 
Revision Appln. No. 1688/78. 
J. R,1mamurthi and Miss R. Vaigai for the Appellant

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.