Ramavatar Budhaiprasad Etc vs Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola on 14 March, 1961
Neither the expression 'cosmetic' nor 'toilet requisite' has
been defined in the Act. The dictionary meaning of the
expression 'cosmetic' (see Webster's international
Dictionary) is "A preparation to beautify or alter
appearance of the body or for cleansing, coloring,
conditioning or protecting skin, 'hair, nails, eyes or
teeth". The same dictionary gives the meaning of the
expression "toilet" thus : 'an act or process of dressing,
especially formerly of dressing hair and now usually
cleansing and grooming of one's person". The word
"toiletry" is explained in the said dictionary as meaning
"an article -or preparation used in making one's toilet such
as soap, lotion, cosmetic, tooth paste, shaving cream,
cologne etc.
According to the dictionary meaning tooth powder is regarded
both as an item of cosmetic and toilet: but as observed by
this Court in Bamavatar Budhaiprasad v. The Asstt. Sales
Tax Officer, Akola and another(1), the names of articles,
the sales and purchases of which are liable to be taxed
given in a statute unless defined in the statute must be
construed not in a technical sense but as understood in
common parlance. Therein this Court was called '-upon to
consider whether 'betel leaves' could be considered as
'vegetable' under item No. 6 of Schedule II of the C. P.
Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947. In that case this Court observed
that the word 'vegetable' had not been defined in the Act
and being a word of every day use,
(1) 12, S. T. C. 286;