This is a case stated by the Board of Revenue under Section 21(3) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 19

44. The question referred is "Whether green betel leaves called pan are taxable articles within the meaning of Section 6 of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1944, read with Notification No. 7567 F, dated the 8th July, 1944, issued by the Government of Bihar in the Finance Department."

The assessees are 13 dealers in betel leaves used in making up pan. It was found that they had been importing betel leaves from outside Bihar, and had been carrying on this business for a long time, with an annual gross turnover exceeding Rs. 5,000 in the case of each of them during the financial year 1943-44, but they had failed to apply for registration under Section 7 of the Act. The Sales Tax Officer accordingly issued notices upon them on the 14th of March, 1945, under Section 10(5) of the Act calling upon them to file necessary returns for the quarter ending the 31st of December, 19

44. Instead of filing returns, the assessees filed objection petitions on the ground that betel leaves come within the category of green vegetables, and as such were exempted from the levy of sales tax by Notification No. 7567 F, dated the 8th of July, 1944, issued by the Government under Section 6 of the Act : Subsequently they filed before the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Chota Nagpur Division, a joint petition for determination of the question whether any tax was payable in respect of the sale of betel leaves. The Commissioner took the view that the notification in question was not intended to exclude betel leaves from taxation, and that the word "vegetables" in the notification was used in the ordinary popular sense of "a plant cultivated for food". He accordingly dismissed the petition. The assessees then moved the Board of Revenue in revision, but the Board took the same view. The assessees then filed an application under Section 21(1) of the Act which has resulted in the present reference.

The notification referred to directs that no tax shall be payable on the sale of a number of classes of goods specified. The 6th item is "vegetables green or dried other than medicinal preparations". Hence the question for decision is whether the word "vegetables" must be taken to include betel leaves. The word "vegetables" is used in two different senses : first, in a wide sense, as for example when we speak of the "vegetable kingdom". According to this usage, it would include all plants. The second sense, and the more common usage, is as connoting only "herbaceous plants cultivated for food" (see Websters Dictionary). It is perfectly clear from the notification that Government used the word in the more limited sense in accordance with the common usage. The notification includes 25 items, many of which are not food-stuffs, but all the items up to No. 8 are food-stuffs, and item 6, which we are considering, thus comes in the midst of the list of food-stuffs. Secondly, it is impossible to suppose that Government meant to exclude the entire vegetable kingdom. Lastly, - and this is the most convincing - item No. 1 is "cereals and pulses including all forms of rice, gram, peas, moong, arhar, masur, khesari, millet, bajra, and jowar, wheat, oats, barley, maize, powdered or broken pulses, sago, besan and sattu, sold loose or in unsealed card-board or paper containers". Item 3 is "flour including atta, maida, suji and bran". Item 8 is "gur, sugar and molasses". If the word "vegetables" had been used in a comprehensive sense to include all plants and their products, then items 1 and 8 would not have been separately specified. There can, therefore, in my opinion, be no doubt that Government by "vegetables" meant plants cultivated for food.

In this limited sense, will pan be included Pan is certainly not a food-stuff. It is a masticatory (see the article on "betel" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Some hold that it is also a digestive. But, even so, it is not a food. It is not eaten for its food value, but at the highest as an aid to digestion. It is not served as a part of a meal, but as a supplement to it. As a digestive agent, it might perhaps be considered a medicinal preparation, but the notification is careful to provide that in exempting vegetables, green or dried, medicinal preparations are not included.

For these reasons I am satisfied that the view taken by the Board of Revenue is the correct one, and I would, therefore, answer the question in the affirmative. Betel leaves are taxable, and have not been exempted under the notification. The assessees must pay the costs of the reference. Hearing fee Rs. 100.

MANOHAR LALL, J. - I agree.

Reference answered accordingly.