STATE OF WEST BENGAL V. WASHI AHMED (1977) 2 SCC 246

 

STATE OF WEST BENGAL V. WASHI AHMED

(1977) 2 SCC 246

FACTS

The Sales Tax authorities held that green ginger is used to add flavour and taste to food and it is, therefore, not a vegetable commonly known as ‘sabji, tarkari or sak’. The orders of the Sales Tax authorities were challenged in the High Court which 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.

ISSUE

The issue pertaining to the current scenario was whether green ginger falls within the category of goods described as “vegetables, green or dried,” in Item (6) of Schedule I to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941.

RULE- 

Section 6 of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 states that the act levies sales tax on the taxable turnover of a dealer computed in accordance with the provisions of that Act. Section 6(1) provides that no tax shall be payable under the Act on the sale of goods specified in the first column of Schedule I, subject to the conditions and exceptions. Item (6) of Schedule I specifies in the first column “vegetable, green or dried, commonly known as ‘sabji, tarkari or sak’“ so that no tax is payable on the sale of goods falling within this category, subject to the exception set out in the second column, namely, that they would be liable to bear tax “when sold in sealed containers”.

JUDGEMENT AND ANALYSIS

1. The court acknowledged the question in hand and observed that if green ginger falls within the category of the vegetables, it would be exempted from sales tax imposed under the provisions of that Act.
2. The court examined that although the term “vegetable” isn’t defined in the act, its position is well settled as a result of various decisions of this court. In Motipur Zamindary Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar, it was held that this word, being a word of everyday use, must be construed not in any technical sense, not from any botanical point of view, but as understood in common parlance. Similarly, the position of betel leaves arose in Ramavatar case (supra) and it was held that they aren't included within the paradigm of “vegetables”
3. It was further observed that since the word “vegetable” was a commonly used word understood in its common parlance and was not defined in the act, it must be given its popular meaning. So constructed, it denotes those classes of vegetables that are grown in a kitchen garden or a farm and are used for the table.
4. The court therefore held that green ginger is a vegetable grown in a kitchen garden or a farm and is used on the kitchen table, though not as a primary ingredient, it is included within the meaning of sabji, tarkari etc.

RELEVANT THEORY

The rule of literal construction is considered to be the first principle of interpretation. According to this rule, the words of an enactment are to be given their ordinary and natural meaning if it is clear and unambiguous. Where wordings of a statute are absolutely clear and unambiguous, the rule of literal construction is  applied and recourse to other principles of interpretation is not required. Unless the law is logically defective and suffers from conceptual and inherent ambiguity, it should be given its literal meaning. The words of a statute are first understood in their natural, ordinary or popular sense and phrases and sentences are construed according to their grammatical meaning, unless that leads to some absurdity or they suggest a contrary meaning. Where the meaning of a word or expression is not clear, the literal rule of interpretation is not applicable. Ordinarily, court should not depart from literal rule as that would really be amending the law in the garb of interpretation, which is not permissible. Only when literal construction results in some absurdity or anomaly, other principles of interpretation may be applied.