Common parlance test for "vegetables" rejects botanical meaning and treats chillies and lemons as vegetables under tax law.

Chillies and lemons were treated as vegetables under the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 because the expression "vegetables" was construed in its common parlance sense, not in a technical or botanical sense. The Court applied the everyday understanding of the word, noting that these items are ordinarily grown in kitchen gardens or farms and are used at the table. The fact that some people may not regard them as food did not alter their general commercial and ordinary meaning. The contrary view was rejected, and the ratio affirms that undefined words of everyday use in taxing statutes are read in popular sense.

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Issues: Whether chillies and lemons are vegetables within the meaning of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947.

Analysis: The expression "vegetables" was held to be a word of everyday use and not one to be construed in a technical or botanical sense. The controlling approach is the common parlance or popular sense in which the article is understood. On that test, chillies and lemons are ordinarily grown in kitchen gardens or farms and are used at the table. The fact that some persons may not treat them as articles of food does not alter their general commercial and ordinary understanding as vegetables.

Conclusion: Chillies and lemons are vegetables for the purposes of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, and the contrary view was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: A word of everyday use not defined in the taxing statute must be construed in its common parlance sense and not by botanical or technical meaning.

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