- (1.) THE only point raised in this petition is that the petitioner who is a dealer in cinder is entitled to exemption from payment of sales tax in respect of the turnover of cinder on the ground that "cinder" is "coal" and coal is exempt from sales tax by reason of notification No. ST 911/X dated 31st March, 1956, issued under section 4 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, and that, therefore, the assessment made against him is liable to be quashed.
(2.) I am of the view that properly speaking "cinder" is not "coal". Reliance has been placed on the dictionary meanings of "coal" and "cinder" and it is found that in the dictionaries "cinder" is sometime described as "coal". It is inevitable that in dictionaries, the meaning of one word must be elucidated by reference to other words, but authorities competent to speak on the subject are of the view that strictly speaking there are no synonyms in the English language. Accordingly, the mere fact that in dictionaries words are explained and elucidated by reference to other words is not the final test of the exact shade of meaning of a particular word. It seems that the basic difference between "coal" and "cinder" is that coal is a mineral as it is dug out of the bowels of the earth without anything more being done to it. Cinder, on the other hand, is not coal because cinder is got only after something has been done to coal namely after coal has been burnt. If coal is completely burnt, and all combustible property of coal has escaped into the atmosphere, what is left is ashes which are no longer capable of burning. Where all the combustible property of coal has not completely escaped into atmosphere, the residue which is left and which may still be capable of combustion and which may serve many of the purposes which are served by burning coal, is not coal but cinder. I am of the view that when the Legislature used the word "coal" in the notification, it was using that word in the sense in which it is strictly speaking used and understood in the English language. Coal is one particular variety of mineral or other product or substance, even though it may be capable of being used for many of the purposes for which another mineral or other product or substance may be capable of being used. To my mind the use is not the test.
(3.) I , therefore, see no force in the only point which has been urged in this petition, which I dismiss with costs. Petition dismissed.;