# STATE OF MADRAS v. MIS. SWASTIK TOBACCO FACTORY, VEDARANYAM '

- **Citation:** [1966] 3 S.C.R. 79
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1965-12-14
- **Case number:** Civil Appeals Nos. 90 and ·' and 91 of 1965
- **Bench:** K. Subba Rao, J. C. Shah, S. M. S!Kri
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/state-of-madras-v-mis-swastik-tobacco-factory-vedaranyam-3746
- **Pages:** 5

## Headnote

Madras General Sa/es Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules 1939,
r. 5(1) (i) Excise duty paid on raw tobacco--Raw tobacco processed and
sold as chewing tobacco-Excise duty whether to be deducted from turnover of chewing tobacco under r. 5(1) (i).
'
The respondent factory used to purchase raw tobacco and after pro·
c
cessing it, sell it as chewing tobacco.
Excise duty was paid by the factory
in respect of raw tobacco purchased by it.
In sales tax proceedings the
factory contended that th_e excise duty so paid to the Central Government
must be deducted to arrive at the net turnover under r. 5(1)i) of the
Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules, 1939. The
assessing officer as well as the Appellate Assistant Commissioner rejected
the contention but it was accepted by the Tribunal.
The revision filed
D
by the State in the High Court \Vas dismissed, whereupon the State ap-
•
pealed to this Court by special leave .
•
It was contended on behalf of the appellant that the raw tobacco wa•
converted by a manufacturing process into chewing tobacco, a different
commodity and that, therefore, under r. 5(l)(i) of the Rules, as excise
duty was paid only in respect of raw tobacco and not chewing tobacco
the said duty was not deductible from the turnover of the assessee.
E
HELO: The object of the concession in r. 5(1)i) is presumably to
avoid payment of tax on tax in respect of the same goods.
This con~
cession would have no relevance if the
goods subjected to excise duty
were different from the goods sold.
Tobacco when converted by a pro~
cess of manufacture into chewing tobacco becomes a different marketable
'
product.
Duty on raw tobacco cannot therefore be said to be paid in
respect of the manufactured product. [82 B-D]
F
The expression "in respect of the goods" in r. 5(1) (i)
means only
'
"on the goods", and cannot take in the raw material out of which the
goods were made. [83 E]
Inland Revenue Commissioners v. Court & Co. [1963] 2 All. E.R.
722 and Asher v. Seaford
Court Estates
Ltd., L.R. [1950] A.C. 508,
considered .
•
G
The excise duty paid by the respondent was only on the raw tobacco
.. ,
and not on the goods sold by it, and therefore, the said dnty could not
be deducted from its turnover under r. 5(1)(i). [83 E-F]
,
CML APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeals Nos. 90 and
·'
and 91 of 1965.
H
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order dated
September 4, 1963 of the Madras High Court in Tax Cases Nos.
120 and 121 of 1963.
I
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'.:<_::-- ·,
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' SUPREME COURT
REPORTS ___ [1966] 3 s_c.R.
,
A,,· Ranganandhan Chetty and A. V .~ Rangam, for the appellant.
·
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T. A. Ramachandran and 0. C. Mathur for the respondent.

## Text

A
STATE OF MADRAS
v.
..
MIS. SWASTIK TOBACCO FACTORY, VEDARANYAM
'
December 14, 1965
B
[K. SUBBA RAO, J. C. SHAH AND S. M. S!KRI, JJ.]
Madras General Sa/es Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules 1939,
r. 5(1) (i) Excise duty paid on raw tobacco--Raw tobacco processed and
sold as chewing tobacco-Excise duty whether to be deducted from turnover of chewing tobacco under r. 5(1) (i).
'
The respondent factory used to purchase raw tobacco and after pro·
c
cessing it, sell it as chewing tobacco.
Excise duty was paid by the factory
in respect of raw tobacco purchased by it.
In sales tax proceedings the
factory contended that th_e excise duty so paid to the Central Government
must be deducted to arrive at the net turnover under r. 5(1)i) of the
Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules, 1939. The
assessing officer as well as the Appellate Assistant Commissioner rejected
the contention but it was accepted by the Tribunal.
The revision filed
D
by the State in the High Court \Vas dismissed, whereupon the State ap-
•
pealed to this Court by special leave .
•
It was contended on behalf of the appellant that the raw tobacco wa•
converted by a manufacturing process into chewing tobacco, a different
commodity and that, therefore, under r. 5(l)(i) of the Rules, as excise
duty was paid only in respect of raw tobacco and not chewing tobacco
the said duty was not deductible from the turnover of the assessee.
E
HELO: The object of the concession in r. 5(1)i) is presumably to
avoid payment of tax on tax in respect of the same goods.
This con~
cession would have no relevance if the
goods subjected to excise duty
were different from the goods sold.
Tobacco when converted by a pro~
cess of manufacture into chewing tobacco becomes a different marketable
'
product.
Duty on raw tobacco cannot therefore be said to be paid in
respect of the manufactured product. [82 B-D]
F
The expression "in respect of the goods" in r. 5(1) (i)
means only
'
"on the goods", and cannot take in the raw material out of which the
goods were made. [83 E]
Inland Revenue Commissioners v. Court & Co. [1963] 2 All. E.R.
722 and Asher v. Seaford
Court Estates
Ltd., L.R. [1950] A.C. 508,
considered .
•
G
The excise duty paid by the respondent was only on the raw tobacco
.. ,
and not on the goods sold by it, and therefore, the said dnty could not
be deducted from its turnover under r. 5(1)(i). [83 E-F]
,
CML APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeals Nos. 90 and
·'
and 91 of 1965.
H
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order dated
September 4, 1963 of the Madras High Court in Tax Cases Nos.
120 and 121 of 1963.
I
I
, ~ I
'
'.:<_::-- ·,
\
' SUPREME COURT
REPORTS ___ [1966] 3 s_c.R.
,
A,,· Ranganandhan Chetty and A. V .~ Rangam, for the appellant.
·
·
-
T. A. Ramachandran and 0. C. Mathur for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Subba -Rao, J. These appeals, by special leave, raise the
B
question of the true construction of the provisions of r. 5(1)(i) of
the Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules,
1939, hereinafter referred to as the Rules.
The facts are not in dispute and they may be briefly stated.
The respondent, Messrs Swastik Tobacco Factory, is a dealer in - C- -
tobacco. It purchased raw tobacco; by processing it in a prescribed manner, converted it into chewing tobacco and sold it as
such in small paper packets.
The said process has been described by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court in -Bell -
Mark Tobacco Co._v. Govermentof Madras(') thus: - --
''Taking,' however,. the cumulative effect of the
various processes to which the assessee subjected the
tobacco before he sold it, it is clear that what was eventually sold by the assessee was a manufactured product,
manufactured from the tobacco that the assessee had
purchased.
Soaking in jaggery water is not the only
process to be considered.
The addition of flavouring
essences and shredding of the tobacco should establish
that what the assessee sold was a product substantially
different. from-what he had purchased."
for the purpose of these appeals, it was not disputed that· the
respondent purchased raw tobacco, converted it by a manufacturing- process into chewing tobacco and· sold it in small paper
packets. The respondent paid excise duty in respect of the raw
tobacco purchased by it. For the assessment years 1955-56 and
1956:57, the Assistant-cum-Deputy Commercial Tax Officer
assessed . the respondent to sales tax on the turnover of.
Rs.
J0,67,923-10~9 and Rs. 7,71,661-11-0 respectively. The
respcndent claimed· that the excise duty paid_ by it· to the Central
Government in respect of the raw tobacco should be dedu.cted
from the turnover ascertained by the said Officer. But his conten-
. tion was rejected ... On appeal, the order of ·the said· Officer was
confirmed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Commer-
. cial Taxes. On a further appeal _to the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, the asse~see; in addition to the question of ded1;1ction, raise.d
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(I) (1961) 12 S.T.C. 126, 132.
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MADRAS v. SWASTIK TOBACCO (Subba Rao, !.)
St
A an additional ground that the entire turnover of the sales on chewing tobacco was not liable to be assessed. The Tribunal set rmde
the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.
The State
carried the matter in two revisions to the High Court of Madras.
A Division Bench of the said High Court agreed with the view
expressed by the Tribunal and dismissed the revisions.
Heuce
B the present appeals.
·
Mr. A. V. Rangam, learned counsel for the State, argued that
the raw tobacco was converted by a manufacturing process into
chewing tobacco, a different commodity and that, therefore, under
r. 5(1) of the Rules, as excise duty was paid only in respect of the
c raw tobacco and not chewing tobacco, the said duty was not
deductible from the turnover of the assessee. He did not contest
the correctness of the decision of the High Court on the question
of the taxability of the chewing tobacco under s. 5(vii) of the Act.
Mr. T. A. Ramachandran, learned counsel for the respoudent,
D contended that the said rule was couched in a comprehensive
language so as to take in excise duty paid on raw tobacco c0nverted by a manufacturing process into chewing tobacco.
The
relevant rule reads thus :
"Rule 5. (1) The tax or taxes under section 3 or 5
or 5A or the notification or notifications under section
E
6(1) shall be levied on the net turnover of the dealers.
F
In determining the net turnover the amounts specified in the following clauses shall, subject to the condition specified therein, be deducted from the gross turnover of a dealer :
(i) the excise duty, if any, paid by the dealer to the
Central Government in respect of the goods sold by
him; . . . " .
Both the advocates argued, on the basis of the factual position,
that packets of chewing tobacco were goods different from tobacco
from which the said goods were manufactured. While the learned
G counsel for the State laid emphasis on the words "goods sold by
him'', the learned counsel for the respondent relied upon the
expression "in respect of" preceding the said words.
If, instead
of the expression "in respect of", the word "on" were there, the
inte•tion of the rule would be manifest and the answer to the
question raised would be obvious.
The excise duty paid by the
H respondent was only on the raw tobacco and not on the goods
sold by it and, therefore, the said duty was not deductible thereunder. So far there is no dispute.
But it was said that the
I
' SUPREME COURT. REPORT~~-[1%~) 3 S.C.R. ··
,expression "in r~pei:t of' made all ti:.
; 'lerence. The words
A
:"in· respect of', it was said,. meant "attributable" and, th:rr!ore,
·the argument proceeded, the excise duty paid on the toba•co,
though it was not paid on the goods sold by the respondent, was
.attributable to the said goods sold.
The object of the concession is presumably to avoid payment
B
of tax on tax in respect of the same goods. If excise duty w~s
]laid by a dealer on certain goods, it would be deducted from the
:gross turnover of the dealer in regard to the said goods, as otherwise, in effect, sales-tax would have to be paid on the amount p:iid
towards excise duty.
This concession could have no relevance if
the goods subjected to excise duty were different from the goods
C
sold. Raw tobacco, when converted by a process of manufacture
into chewing tobacco, becomes a differenL marketable_ product.
There will be no comparison between the raw tobacco and the·
chewing tobacco in the matter of demand or even price. Duty
·<>n raw tobacco may have some effect on the cost of the manufactured product, but it cannot possibly be said that the said D
.duty is paid in respect _of the manufactured product. Rule 5(l)(i)
·of the Rules, therefore, permits deduction from the gross turnover of the dealer only the excise duty paid by him in respect of
.the same goods sold by him.
Learned counsel for the respondent cited some English deciE
csions in support of his contention that the expression "in respect
of the goods" was very wide and that it took in the raw_ material
.out of which the goods were made ..
'
'
The House of Lords iri Inland Revenue Commissioners v.
·courts & Co.('), in the context of payment of estate duty, construed the words "in respect of' in s. 5(2) of the Finance Act,
1894 (57 & 5 8 Viet. c. 30) and observed that the phrase denoted .
:some imprecise kind of nexus between the property and the estate
duty. The House of Lords in Asher v. Seaford Court Estates
Ltd. (2 ) in construing the provisions of s. 2, sub-s. (3) of Increase
of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920 (10 & 11
Geo. 5, c. 17), held that the expression "in respect of" must be
read as equivalent to "attributable". The- Privy Council
in
Bieber, Ltd. v. Commissioners of Income-tax( 1 ) observed that
the said words could mean more than "consisting of' or "namely".
F
G
It is not necessary to refer to other. decisions. It may be ·
accepted that the said. expression received a wide interpretation,
H
(1) (1963] 2 All. E.R. 722, 732.
(2) L.R. [1950] A.C. SOB.
(3) [1962] 3 All. E.R. 294.
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MADRAS v. SWASTIK TOBACCO (Subba Rao, !.)
83
having regard to the object of the provisions and the setting in
which the said words appeared. On the other hand, Indian tax
laws use the expression "in respect of" as synonymous with the
expression "on" : see Art. 288 of the Constitution of India; s. 3
of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922; ss. 3(2) and 3(5), Second
Proviso, of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939; s. 3(1A)
of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944; and ss. 9 of the Kerala
Sales Tax Act.
We should not be understood to have construed
the said provisions, but only have referred to them to state the
legislative practice. Consistent with the said practice, r. 5(l)(i)
of the Rules uses the same expression. When the said rule says
"excise duty paid in respect of the goods", the excise duty referred
to is the excise duty paid under s. 3(1), read with the Schedule,
of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944). Under
the said section, read with the Schedule, excise duty is levied on
the goods described in the Schedule. Therefore, when r. 5(1)(i)
of the Rules refers to the duty paid in respect of the goods to the
Central Government, it necessarily refers to the duty paid on the
goods mentioned in the Schedule.
As the duty exempted from
the gross turnover is the duty so paid under the Central Act, read
with the Schedule, the expression "in respect of' in the context
can ouly mean excise duty paid on goods.
In our view, the
expression "in respect of the goods" in r. 5(1)(i) of the Rules
means only "on the goods".
Even if the word "attributable" is
substituted for the words "in respect of', the result· will not be
different, for the duty paid shall be attributable to the. goods. If
it was paid on the raw material it can be attributable only to the
raw material and not to the goods. We, therefore, hold that only
excise duty paid on the goods sold by the assessee is deductible
from the gross turnover under r. 5(1)(i) of the Rules.
We cannot, therefore, agree with the construction of r. 5(1)(i)
of the Rules accepted by the High Court.
No other question ·was raised before us.
In the result, we
modify the order of the High Court accordingly. In the circumG
stances, we direct the parties to bear their respective costs.
Order modified .