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PETITIONER: STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: WASHI AHMED ETC.

DATE OF JUDGMENT07/03/1977

BENCH: BHAGWATI, P.N. BENCH: BHAGWATI, P.N. FAZALALI, SYED MURTAZA

CITATION:  1977 AIR 1638            1977 SCR  (3) 149  1977 SCC  (2) 246  CITATOR INFO :  R          1979 SC 300  (3,4)  RF         1986 SC 626  (12)  F          1989 SC 622  (4)  R          1992 SC 224  (10)

ACT:         Taxing  statute--Principles of construction of  words  in  a         taxing statute--Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, Sched-         ule  I, Item 6--"Green ginger",whether means  a  "vegetable"         falling  within the category of goods described as  "vegeta-         bles,  green  or dried commonly known as subji,  tarkari  or         sak" and thus exempt from tax liability.

HEADNOTE:             Section 6(1) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act  1941         exempts  from  tax  liability "vegetables,  green  or  dried         commonly  known as subji, tarkari or sak" when not  sold  in         sealed containers.  The Sales Tax Authorities  levied  sales         tax  on "green ginger" sold by the respondents,  taking  the         view  that inasmuch as green ginger is. used to add  flavour         and  taste to food. it is  not "vegetable commonly known  as         subji,  tarkari  or sak".  A writ petition  challenging  the         validity  of  the orders of assessment was  allowed  by  the         Calcutta High Court which held that green ginger is  vegeta-         ble within the meaning of that expression as used in Item  6         of the First Schedule to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act,         1941.         Dismissing the State appeals by Special Leave the Court,             HELD:  (1) Green ginger is included. within the  meaning         of the words "vegetables---commonly known as subji, tarkari-         or  sak"  in Item 6 of Schedule I and its sales  are  exempt         from  tax under s. 6 of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax)  Act,         1941.  [152 D]             (2) The word "vegetable" though not defined in the  Act,         being a word of every day use, must be construed not in  any         technical sense, nor from any botanical point of view but as         understood m common parlance i.e. denoting class of  vegeta-         bles  which are grown in a kitchen garden or in a  farm  and         are  used for the table.  The word "vegetable" in Item 6  of         Schedule I to the Act, so construed, by giving its   popular         sense  meaning, "that sense which people conversant with the         subject-matter  with  which the statute   is  dealing  would

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       attribute  to it" denotes those classes of vegetables  which         are grown in a kitchen garden or in a farm and are used  for         the table. Green ginger obviously is a vegetable grown in  a         kitchen  garden or in a farm and it is used for  the  table.         It  may not be used as a principal item of the meal, but  it         certainly  forms  part  of the meal as  a  subsidiary  item.         Green  ginger is generally regarded as included  within  the         meaning  of  the word "vegetable" as  understood  in  common         parlance. 1[150 F-H, 151 G-H, 152 A]             Ramavatar  Badhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales  Tax  Officer         Akola,  A.I.R.  1961 S.C. 1325; M/s. Motipur  Zamindary  Co.         Ltd. v. State of Bihar A.I.R.   1962 S.C. 660, applied.             Madhya  Pradesh Pan Merchants’ Association, Santra  Mar-         ket,  Nagpur v. State of Madhya Pradesh 7 S.T. Cases  99  at         102, referred to.             Grenfell v. I.R.C. (1876) 1 Ex. D. 242 at 248;  Planters         Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King (1951)  1 D.L.R. 385;         200 Chests of Tea (1824) 9 Wheaton (U.S.) 430, at 438 quoted         with approval.

JUDGMENT:             CIVIL  APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal  Nos.  1546-         1551 of 1971.             (From  1he  Judgment and Order dated 20-12-1968  of  the         Calcutta  High  Court in Appeals from Original  Orders  Nos.         556-559, 571 and 572 of 1967)         150             Lal Narain Sinha, Sol. General and G.S. Chatterice,  for         the appellants.         Purushottam Chatterjee and Ratbin Des, for the respondents.         The Judgment of the Court was delivered by             BHAGWATI, J.--The short question which arises for deter-         mination  in  these appeals is whether  green  ginger  falls         within the category of goods described as "vegetables, green         or dried, commonly known as "sabji, tarkeri or ask" in  Item         (6)  of  Schedule I to the Bengal Finance (Sales  Tax)  Act,         1941.   If  it is covered by this description, it  would  be         exempt  from sales tax imposed under the provisions of  that         Act.  The  Sales Tax authorities held that green  ginger  is         used to. add Havour and. taste to food and it is, therefore,         not vegetable commonly known as sabji, tarkeri or ask".  The         orders  of  the Sales Tax authorities were challenged  in  a         writ  petition filed under article 226 of  the  Constitution         and  a  Single Judge of the High Court who. heard  the  writ         petition  disagreed  with the view taken by  the  Sales  Tax         authorities  and held that green ginger is vegetable  within         the  meaning of that expression as used in Item (6)  of  the         First Schedule to the Act.  This view of the learned Single’         Judge was affirmed by a Division Bench of the High Court  on         appeal  under clause (15) of the Letters Patent.  Hence  the         present appeal by the State with special leave obtained from         this Court.             The  Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941  levies  sales         tax on the taxable turnover of a dealer computed in  accord-         ance  with the provisions of that Act.  Section 6,  sub-sec-         tion (1) provides that no tax shall be payable under the Act         on the sale of goods specified in the first column of Sched-         ule I, subject to the conditions and exceptions, if any, set         out in the corresponding entry in the second column  thereof         and  Item  (6) of Schedule I specifies in the  first  column         "vegetable,  green or dried, commonly known as "Sabji,  tar-         kari or ask" so that no. tax is payable on the sale of goods         falling  within this category, subject to the exception  set

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       out in the second column, namely, that they would be  liable         to bear tax "when sold in sealed containers."  It was common         ground in the present case that green ginger was not sold by         the  assessee  in sealed containers and  the  only  question         which, therefore, requires to be considered is whether green         ginger  can  be  regarded as  vegetable  commonly  known  as         ’sabji,  tarkari or sak’.  Now, the word ’vegetable’ is  not         defined  in  the Act but it is well settled as a  result  of         several decisions of this Court of which we may mention only         two, namely, Ram avatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales  Tax         Officer, kola(1) and M/s Motipur Jamindary Co. Ltd. v. State         of Bihar(2)) that this word, being a word of every day  use,         must  be construed not in any technical sense, nor from  any         botanical  point of view, but as understood in  common  par-         lance.    The  question  which  arose  in  Ramavatar’s  case         (supra) was whether betel leaves are "vegetables"         (1) A.I.R. 1961 S.C. 1325.         (2) A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 660.         151         and  this court held that they are not included within  that         term.  This Court quoted with approval the following passage         from  the  judgment of the High Court of Madhya  Pradesh  in         Madhya  Pradesh  Pan Merchants’ Association, Santra  Market,         Nagput v. State of Madhya Pradesh(1):                             "In  our opinion, the word  "vegetables"                       cannot be given the comprehensive meaning  the                       term bears in natural history and has not been                       given that meaning in taxing statutes  before.                       The term "vegetables" is to be understood   as                       commonly understood denoting those classes  of                       vegetable  matter which are grown  in  kitchen                       gardens and are used for the table.",         and  observed that "the word ’vegetable’ in taxing  statutes         is  to  be understood as in common  parlance  i.e.  denoting         class  of vegetables which are grown in a kitchen garden  or         in a farm and are used for the table".  This meaning of  the         word  ’vegetable’  was reiterated by this Court  in  Motipur         zamindary case (supra) where this Court  was called upon  to         consider whether sugarcane can be regarded as vegetable  and         it  was held by this Court that sugarcane cannot be said  to         fail within the definition of the word ’vegetable’.             It  is  interesting to note that the same  principle  of         construction  in relation to words used in a taxing  statute         has  also  been adopted  in English, Canadian  and  American         courts.   Pollock  B. pointed out in Grenfell  v.  I.R.C.(2)         that  "if  a statute contains language which is  capable  of         being construed in a popular sense, such a statute is not to         be construed according to the strict or technical meaning of         the language contained in it, but is to be construed in  its         popular  sense,  meaning, of course, by the  words  "popular         sense" that sense which people conversant with the  subject-         matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute  to         it.’"  So also the Supreme Court of Canada said in  Planters         Nut and Chocolate Co. Ltd. v. The King,(3) while  interpret-         ing  the  words ’fruit’ and ’vegetable’ in the  Excise  Act:         "They  are ordinary words in every day use and  are,  there-         fore,  to  be construed according to their  popular  sense".         The  same rule was expressed in slightly different  language         by  Story,  J., in 200 Chests of Tea(4)  where  the  learned         Judge  said that "the particular words used by the  Legisla-         ture  in the denomination of articles are to  be  understood         according  to  the common commercial  understanding  of  the         terms used, and not in their scientific or technical  sense,         for  the Legislature does "not suppose our merchants  to  be         naturalists, or geologists, or botanists" ".

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         It  will, therefore, be seen that the word ’vegetable’  in         Item  (6)  of  Schedule I to the Act must  be  construed  as         understood  in  common  parlance and it must  be  given  its         popular  sense meaning "that sense which  people  conversant         with  the subject-matter with which the statute  is  dealing         would  attribute to it" and so construed, it  denotes  those         classes of vegetables which are grown in a kitchen garden or         in a farm and are used for the table.  Now, obviously  green         ginger is a vegetable         (1) 7 S.T.C. 99 at 102.         (2) (1876) 1 Ex. D. 242 at 248.         (3) (1951) 1 D.L.R. 385.         (4) (1824), 9 Wheaton (U.S.) 430 at 438.          11--240SCI/77         152         grown  in a kitchen garden or in a farm and is used for  the         table.   It may not be used as a principal item of the  meal         but  it  certainly forms part of the meal  as  a  subsidiary         item. It is an item which is ordinarily sold by a  vegetable         vendor and both the vegetable vendor who every day deals  in         vegetables  and the housewife who. daily goes to the  market         to  purchase  vegetables would unhesitatingly re  and  green         ginger  as vegetable.  The assessee in fact placed  evidence         before  the Sales Tax authorities showing that  the  Railway         authorities  also treated green ginger as vegetable for  the         purpose  of railway tariff and charged for the  carriage  of         green  ginger at the reduced rate applicable  to  vegetables         and  even the Corporation of Calcutta included green  ginger         in  the category of vegetables in the market  bulletin  pub-         lished by it fortnightly showing the rates in the  municipal         market.   There can, therefore, be little doubt  that  green         ginger is generally regarded as included within the  meaning         of  the word ’vegetable’ as understood in  common  parlance.         That  a  part, we find that Item (6) speaks  not  simply  of         vegetables  but "vegetables--commonly known as sabji,   tar-         kari  or sak" and the Division Bench of the High Court  held         green ginger to fall within the meaning of the words "sabji,         tarkari or sak". We should certainly be very slow to disturb         a  meaning placed on these words in Bengali language by  two         judges  of the High Court who may reasonably be expected  to         be quite conversant with that language.  We are  accordingly         of the view that green ginger is included within the meaning         of  the words "vegetables--commonly known as sabji,  tarkari         or sak" in Item (6) of Schedule I and its sales must be held         to be, exempt from tax under section 6 of the Act.             The  result is that the appeals fail and  are  dismissed         with costs. Costs will be only m one set.         S.R.                                    Appeals dismissed.         153