Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

55. The High Court preferred to follow its own decision and on 24 March, 1986 held against the appellant. A certificate having been granted by the High Court these appeals are now before us.

The purpose of galvanising a pipe is merely to make it weatherproof. It remains a steel tube. By being put through the process of galvanising it is made rust-proof. Neither its structure nor function is altered. As a commercial item it is not different from a steel tube. That galvanisation is done on steel tubes or pipes as a protec- tive measure only was the basis of the decision of the Karnataka High Court in Associated Mechanical Industries, (supra). Merely because the steel tube has been galvanised does not mean that it ceases to be a steel tube. The Gujarat High Court in State of Gujarat v. Shah Veljibhai Motichand, Lunawada, [1969] 23 S.T.C. 288 held that merely because iron is given the shape of a sheet and is subjected to corruga- tion does not take it out of the description of "iron and steel". So also in Sales Tax Commissioner and Others v. Jammu Iron and Steel Syndicate, [1980] 45 S.T.C. 99 the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir held that galvanisation and corrugation do not change the essential character of iron sheets, and they remain iron sheets.