STATE OF TAMIL NADU Vs. KANNAGI ENGINEERING WORKS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition preferred by the State under s. 38 of the Tamil Nadu ST Act, 1959 hereinafter referred to as the Act, against the order of the Tribunal dt. 23rd October, 1972. The matter lies within a very narrow compass. The respondent herein had returned a turnover of Rs. 30, 632 representing the sale of cycle rickshaws. The question for consideration was, whether the sale was liable to tax at 6 per cent single point under entry 38 of sch. I to the Act or at 3 per cent multi-point. The case of the State was that the turnover in question was liable to be assessed at 6 per cent single point whole the case of the respondent was that it was liable to be assessed only at 3 per cent multi-point. In other words, the controversy was whether cycle rickshaws fell within the meaning of Entry 38 of the First Sch. to the Act or not. The said Entry is as follows :- "bicycles, tandem cycles and cycle Combination tyres, tubes and accessories and parts. " * The Tribunal in an elaborate order has held that cycle rickshaws cannot be brought within the scope of "cycle combination" occurring in the said entry. The Tribunal has pointed out that the essence of a bicycle is sell for propulsion, while in the case of a cycle rickshaw, the essence is some body carrying seated in the rickshaws, and it is more pronounced as a rickshaw than as a cycle. We cannot say that he said reasoning of the Tribunal is erroneous. At the same time we may also point out that the collocation of the words occurring in Entry 38 will clearly shows that cycle rickshaws cannot fall within the said entry. It is to be noticed that in the said entry, after the word'bicycles'there is a comma and thereafter the expression'tandem cycles and cycle combination occurs. Thus it will be seen that the expression "cycle combination" goes along with the expression tandem cycles'and that is why the word and has been used in between the two and the expressions are not separated by any comma. The significance of this can be appreciated when we take into account Entry 3 of the same Schedule. That entry so far as it relevantly reads as follows :-" Motor vehicles, including motor cars, motor taxi-cabs, motor cycles and cycle combinations, motor scooters etc. , etc. , Here again it will be seen that the expression "cycle combinations" is tacked on with the expression'motor cycles' by the word'and'and the two expressions are not separated by a coma as the other expressions are separated in the said entry, thus indicating that'cycle combinations'goes along with the expression'motor cycles'. On the same reasoning, in the present case, the expression'cycle rickshaw will not come within the scope of that entry. Hence, we hold that the Tribunal has not committed any error of law by coming to the conclusion that cycle rickshaws will not fall within the scope of Entry 38 of Schedule I to the Act.

(2.) THE result is the Tax Revision case fails and is dismissed with cost of the Respondent-Counsel's fee Rs. 250 (Rs. Two hundred and fifty only ).