Bombay High Court
Municipal Corporation Of Greator ... vs Forage & Co. on 9 June, 1987
Equivalent citations: (1987)89BOMLR301, AIR 1987 BOMBAY 321, (1987) MAH LJ 623, (1987) MAHLR 1070, (1987) 89 BOM LR 301, 1987 BOM LR 89 301
JUDGMENT Bharucha, J.
1. This is an appeal against the judgement and order making the writ petition of the respondents (original petitioners) absolute. The respondents manufacture Zinc Oxide at a factory in the State of Gujarat. They bring the zinc oxide into the municipal limits of greater Bombay for sale. It is their case that they are not liable to pay octroi on the zinc oxide and the writ petition was filed to restrain the appellants, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay, from collecting octroi on their zinc oxide and for refund of the octroi that was already collected.
2. Section 139 (4), Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, empowers the Municapal Corporation to collect octroi By reason of S. 192 octroi at rates not exceeding those specified in Schedule H to the said Act is leviable "in respect of the several articles mentioned in the said Schedule ................. on the entry of the said articles into Greater Bombay for consumption, use or sale therein." Schedule for consemption, use or sale therein." Schedule H Comprises 60 entries. It is divided into 9 classes, Each Class has a heading. Class IV is headed, "Articles used in construction of buildings, roads and other structures and articles made of wood or cane." Entry 26 which falls under Class IV, reads thus:--
"paints, distemper and colour washed used for painting buildings varnish, boiled linseed oil, turpentine, zince oxide and red oxide 4 per cent ad valorem."
3. It was the contention of Mr. C. J. Shah, learned counsel for the appellants, that the headings of the classes did not govern the interpretation of the entries and that, since zinc oxide was specifically included in entry 26, it was subject to octroi, regardless of the use to which it was to be put. It was, on the other hand, the submission of Mr. Cala, learned counsel for the respondents, that the heading of the class under which entry 26 appeared governed the interpretation of entry 26 and that, therefore, zinc oxide could be subjected to octroi only if it was used in the structures. It was Mr. Cala's submission that zinc oxide was sold by the respondents only to those who manufacatures rubber and that zinc oxide was an insignificant ingredient in the manufacutre of paint, so that, in any event, it fell outside the ambit of Class IV.
4. Mr. Cala strongly relied upon the judgment of Vaidya, J. in Appeal No. 755 of 1967, Municipal Corpn. Of Greater Bombay v. Glaxo Laboratories (India) Pvt. Ltd. It is dated 30th April, 1974. It is squarely lapplicable to the question before us and the learned single Judge, in the impugned judgement, followed it. Vaidya, J. held that the headings of the various classes culdnot lbe ignored when interpreting the entries in jSchedule H. He rejected the argument on behalf of the Municipal Corporation that the headings should be read as constituting no more than an index. He emphasised that the use of the articles listed in Schedule H was considered important. The headings, he found, were essential part of the entries which fell in different classes and that "instead of repearing those words in respect of each of the entries falling under different classes, the Legislature has given the classifications."
5. It is necessary to set out the headings of the nine classes before we proceed further. Class I is headed, "Articles for food and drink". Class II is headed, "Animals". Class III is headed, "Articles used for fuel, lighting, washing and industrial use". The heading of Class IV has already been reproduced. Calss V deals with "perfumes, toilet requisites, colours and household goods". Class VI deals with "tobacco requisites". Class Vii is headed, l"piece goods cotton, yarn and threads of all sorts and starchind and sinzing materials, leather and articles of leather and rubber goods". Class VIII deals with "metal and articles made of metals". Class is headed, "miscellaneous".
6. Vaidya, J. was right when the held that the use to which the articles listed in Schedule H were to be put was relevant, but, in our view, it was relevant where such use was mentioned in the entry itself, not in the heading of the class in which the entry fell. Thus by entry 26 paint, distemper and colour washes were made liable to octroi if used for painting buildings. Entry 26 then refers to "varnish, bioled linseed Oil, turpentine, zinc oxide and red oxide" but, in regard to thse articles no use is specified by the entry. These articles are subject to the levy of octroi regardless of the use to which they are to be put. If the intention was that the heading of Class IV was to govern the entries therein, entry 26 would not have needed to specify that only those paints, distemper and colour washes as were used for painting buildings would be subject to octroi. Similarly, entries 38 and 39 in Class VII refer to "Cotton ginned or unsigned" and "cotton waste, yarn waste and hard waste" respectively. The heading of Class VII, which has been reproduced above mentions cotton and yarn. If it was intended to govern the interpretation of entries 38 and 39, these entries a would not have specified cotton and yarn. In the example given by Vaidya, J. pottery used for construction or decoration of buildings is expressly specified in entry 28 while all other crockery falls under entry 34 in the same class, viz Class V, it is chinaware and porcelainware that falls under entry 58 in the miscellaneous Class IX. There is, therefore, intrinsic evidence in Schedule H that the entries therein are to be interpreted independently of the headings of its nine classes.
7. The fact that Schedule H is divided into what are termed class is also instructive. The word 'class' has been deliberately used to indicate the classification of the articles covered by Schedule H; as for edample, 'animals' and 'metal and articles made of metla'. The headings are only meant to provide a convenient index to assist the importer of an article or, for that matter, an officer of the Municipal Corporation, to locate the article in the Schedule.
8. Accordingly, we must record our respectful disagreement with the views expressed by Vaidya, J. in the aforementioned judgement and reverse the impugned judgment and order.
9. The appeal is allowed. The writ petition is dismissed and the rule discharged. The parties shall bear their own costs throught out.
10. At Mr. Cala's request, we continue the interim arrangement contained in the order dated 21st January, 1982 till 1st September, 1987.
11. Appeal allowed.