# • SALES TAX COMMISSIONER, U. P v. M/S. LADHA SINGH MAL SINGH

- **Citation:** [1971] Supp. 1 S.C.R. 941
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1971-07-27
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 564 of 1967
- **Bench:** K. S. Hegde, A. N. Grover
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/sales-tax-commissioner-u-p-v-m-s-ladha-singh-mal-singh-5467
- **Pages:** 4

## Headnote

U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948-Noti{ication dated June
19, 1948-Cloth
manufactured by looms worked by power-If cloth
manufactured
by
Mills.
Under the notification dated June 19, 1948 issued under s. 3(A) of the
U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, sales tax at the rate of 6 pies in a rupee was
941
B
payable on "cloth manufactured by mills". Tax at that rate was sought
C
to be Jevied on cloth manufactured by means of looms worked by power
on the basis that it was "cloth manufactured by mills" within the meaning
of the notification. The High Court held that cloth manufactured by power
looms could not fall under the term "cloth manufactured by mills". Dismissing the appeal,
HELD: What has to be seen is the context in which the word "mill"
is used in the notification. The notification divides cloth broadly into two
D
categories-mill made and loom made.
Loom made cloth would include
all cloth manufactured on looms and, therefore, whether the energy is
supplied manually or by power cannot convert the essential character
of the cloth, namely, its manufacture on looms.
As regards mill made
cloth the actual process of weaving is more or less automatic, pre-conceived and definite and it involves functioning of machinery. In popular language a power loom cloth is never associated with a mill cloth. [942H·
943A]
E
Further, it -:annot be said that once the looms worked by power are
used in a building the essential characteristics of mills would be satisfied.
To hold so would be contrary to the accepted and popular meaning of
hand-loom or power-loom cloth and mill-made cloth. The distinction
which v;as kept in view when the notification was promulgated was between
the aforesaid two categories or types of cloth involving essentially a difference in the process in which it was manufactured. [943H-944B]
F
Sri Dhandapani Power Loom Factory,
Erode. v. Commercial
Tax
Officer, Coimbatore & Anr., 12 S.T.C. 304 and El/erker v.
Union Cold
Storage Co. Ltd., [1939] I A.E.L.R. 23, referred to.

## Text

•
SALES TAX COMMISSIONER, U. P.
v.
M/S. LADHA SINGH MAL SINGH
July 27, 1971
(K. S. HEGDE AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.J
U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948-Noti{ication dated June
19, 1948-Cloth
manufactured by looms worked by power-If cloth
manufactured
by
Mills.
Under the notification dated June 19, 1948 issued under s. 3(A) of the
U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, sales tax at the rate of 6 pies in a rupee was
941
B
payable on "cloth manufactured by mills". Tax at that rate was sought
C
to be Jevied on cloth manufactured by means of looms worked by power
on the basis that it was "cloth manufactured by mills" within the meaning
of the notification. The High Court held that cloth manufactured by power
looms could not fall under the term "cloth manufactured by mills". Dismissing the appeal,
HELD: What has to be seen is the context in which the word "mill"
is used in the notification. The notification divides cloth broadly into two
D
categories-mill made and loom made.
Loom made cloth would include
all cloth manufactured on looms and, therefore, whether the energy is
supplied manually or by power cannot convert the essential character
of the cloth, namely, its manufacture on looms.
As regards mill made
cloth the actual process of weaving is more or less automatic, pre-conceived and definite and it involves functioning of machinery. In popular language a power loom cloth is never associated with a mill cloth. [942H·
943A]
E
Further, it -:annot be said that once the looms worked by power are
used in a building the essential characteristics of mills would be satisfied.
To hold so would be contrary to the accepted and popular meaning of
hand-loom or power-loom cloth and mill-made cloth. The distinction
which v;as kept in view when the notification was promulgated was between
the aforesaid two categories or types of cloth involving essentially a difference in the process in which it was manufactured. [943H-944B]
F
Sri Dhandapani Power Loom Factory,
Erode. v. Commercial
Tax
Officer, Coimbatore & Anr., 12 S.T.C. 304 and El/erker v.
Union Cold
Storage Co. Ltd., [1939] I A.E.L.R. 23, referred to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No.
564 of 1967.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
Aueust 9, 1966 of the Allahabad High Court in S.T.R. No. 563
of l962.
0. P. Rana, for the appellant.
The respondent did not appear.
G
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
H
Grover, J.-The only point for decision in this appeal by
special leave is whether the cloth manufactured by means of
942
SUPREME COUllT RBPORTS
[1971) SUPP. S.C.R.
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
looms worked by power can be regarded as "cloth manufactured
by mills" for which sales tax was payable at the rate of 6 pies in
a rupee in terms of the notification dated June 8, 1948 issued
under s. 3A of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948. The general rate
of tax on sale of cloth otherwise was 3 pies per rupee. The High
. Court on a reference made under the relevant provisions of the
Act held that cloth manufactured by means of power looms could
not fall under the term "cloth manufactured by the mills".
The approach of the High Court was that since the word
"mills" had not been defined either by the Act or by the notifica·
tion mentioned before the meaning of the words "cloth manufac·
tured by the mills" must be considered according to the common
understanding of mankind. Reference was made to the dictionary
meaning as given in Websters' New International Dictionary,
Vol. 2.
According to the dictionary two things were required
(1) a building and (2) a machinery, in order to constitute a "mill".
The meaning of the word "machine", according to the dictionary
in a popular and mechanical sense is ".... .. .. .. .. .. . more or less
complex combination of mechanical parts, as levers, gears spro·
cket wheels, pulleys, shafts and spindles, ropes, chains, and bands,
cams and other turning and sliding pieces, springs, confined fluids
etc., together with the frame work and fastenings, supporting and
connecting them, as when it is designed to operate upon material
to change it in some pre-conceived and definite manner ......... "
According to the High Court looms which are merely worked by
power would hardly fall within the meaning of the word "ma·
chine". It has been pointed out that looms worked by hand or
by power have not been shown by any evidence to be different.
It does not appear to have been disputed before the High Court
that a building having looms worked by manual labour would
not be a mill. The court found no difference between building
containing looms worked by manual labour or by power.
According to Words and Phrases, Vol. 27 the term "mill" in
modem usage, includes various machines or combinations of
machinery, as cotton mills, fulling mills, powder mills, etc., to
some of which the. term "manufactory" or "factory" is also applied. In our judgment although the dictionary meaning may be
of considerable assistance in deciding the point before us but what
has to be seen is the context in which the word "mills" is used
in the notification. It is common ground that if cloth was
manufactured by looms worked by manual labour the notification
was not applicable and the rate of tax per rupee was 3 pies but if
he cloth was manufactured by mills then the rate was to be 6
pies. Thus cloth has been divided broadly into two categories.
mill-made and loom-made. It is quite obvious that loom-made
cloth would include all cloth manufactured on looms. It is diffi·
cult to understand how the energy by which the looms are worked
s. T. c. v. LADHA SINGH (Grover, J.)
943
would make any difference. In other words whether the energy
A
is supplied manually or by power cannot convert the essential
character of the cloth, namely, its manufacture on looms.
As
regards mill made cloth the actual process of weaving Is more
or less automatic, preconceived and definite and it involves the
functioning of machinery.
Ramchandra Iyer J., in Sri DhandaB
.Pani Power-loom Factory, Erode v. Commercial Tax Officer,
Coimbatore and Anr.('), was· right in observing that mill cloth
is a familiar variety of cloth and everybody knows what a mill
is. In popular language, a power.,loom cloth is never associated
with a mill cloth.
According to Mcnaghten J., in Ellerker v. Union Cold Storage
Co. Ltd., (') a mill is building where goods are subjected to treatment or processing of some sort and where machinery is used for
that purpose. The illustrations given were :
c
"The miller in his com-mill grinds wheat into fiour,
D
•Or oats into oatmeal. So too, at a scutching-mill the
miller scutches the fiax, to prepare it for spinning. The
saw-mill, the rolling mill, the flatting mill, the puffing
mill and the cotton mill are all buildings where goods are
treated or subjected to some process."
E
It must be remembered that the meaning of the word "mill"
or "mills" would vary according to the context in
which that
word is used. In the above case a company carried on a large
cold storage business. In some of the cold stores part of the
building was used for the manufacture of ice for sale ; others were
F
only used for the purpose ol storage. It was held that all the
premises fell within the meaning of the words in Scb.edule D.
Cases I and. II, r. 5(2) of the Ince.me-tax Act which were : Mi!Ts
factories or other similar premises.
Counsel for the appellant has sought to argue that once the
looms· worked by power are used In a building the essential characteristics of "mills" would be satisfied and if any cloth is manufactured on those looms it would be cloth manufactured by
"mills" within the meaning of the notification. The falacy
11) 12 S. T. C. 304,
(2) [1939] A. B. L. R.. 23
G
H
944
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1971 SUPP. s.c.R.
A
in this argument is that by the same reasoning a building in which
looms worked by manual labour are to be found would also have
to be regarded as "mills". This would be contrary to the accepted and popular meaning of handloom or power loom cloth anct
mill made cloth. We are satisfied that the distinction which was
ll
kept in view when the notification was promulgated was between
the aforesaid two categories or types of cloth involving essentially
a difference in the process by which it was manufactured.
c
We would accordingly uphold the view of the High Court
and dismiss the appeal. There will be no order as to costs.
KB.N.
Appeal dismissed.