JUDGMENT R.R. Rastogi, J.
1. This is the Commissioner's revision under Section 11(1) of the U. P. Sales Tax Act relating to the assessment years 1971-72 and 1972-73 and the question for consideration is as to whether steel tubes are liable to tax as a declared commodity under Section 14(iv) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, at the rate of 3 per cent or as mill stores liable to tax at 6 per cent. The only reason given by the revising authority for treating steel tubes as a declared commodity under Section 14(iv) of the Central Act was that in the revision for the immediately preceding year this commodity has been taxed at 3 per cent. This view is wholly erroneous and cannot be sustained.
2. Section 14 of the Central Act declares certain goods to be of special importance in inter-State trade or commerce. Clause (iv) of this section as applicable to the assessment year under consideration was as under :
(iv) Iron and steel, that is to say,-
(a) pig iron and iron scrap;
(b) iron plates sold in the same form in which they are directly produced by the rolling mill;
(c) steel scrap, steel ingots, steel billets, steel bars and rods;
3. This clause has been substituted by Section 11(b) of the Central Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1972, with effect from 1st April, 1973, and it now certainly includes:-
(xi) Steel tubes, both welded and seamless, of all diameters and lengths, including tube fittings.
4. It would appear, therefore, that with effect from 1st April, 1973, steel tubes have been brought within the category of goods declared to be of special importance in inter-State trade and commerce. But, before that they were not so included and could not be treated as iron and steel. The import of the words "that is to say" occurring in Clause (iv) aforesaid came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Pyare Lal Malhotra 1976 U.P.T.C. 282. It has been laid down that the precise meaning of these words must vary with the context. It was observed :
The object of using them for subject-matter of legislation was obviously to lay down a wide power to legislate. But, in the context of single point sales tax, subject to special conditions when imposed on separate categories of specified goods, the expression was apparently meant to exhaustively enumerate the kinds of goods in a given list. The purpose of an enumeration in a statute dealing with sales tax at a single point in a series of sales would, very naturally, be to indicate the types of goods each of which would constitute a separate class for a series of sales. Otherwise, the listing itself loses all meaning and would be without any purpose behind it.
5. It is clear, therefore, that the words "that is to say" occurring in Clause (iv) of Section 14 of the Central Act were meant to exhaustively enumerate the goods. That being the position, steel tubes which did not figure in that list cannot be treated as iron and steel. Of course, after the substitution of this clause with effect from 1st April, 1973, steel tubes have been included in the given list. The revising authority, thus, erred in treating "steel tubes" as iron and steel liable to tax at 3 per cent. They have to be treated as mill stores liable to tax at 6 per cent.
6. The revision is hence allowed; but, since nobody has appeared for the respondent-assessee, there will be no order as to costs.