Table service requirement limits sales tax exemption for cooked food; takeaway counter delivery falls outside the entry.

Entry 14 of Schedule A to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 was construed to exempt cooked food and non-alcoholic drinks only when "served" in the ordinary course of eating-house service, meaning table service at the premises. The Gujarat HC held that the phrase did not extend to counter delivery or packed takeaway food supplied in a customer's utensils for consumption outside the eating house. The legislative context showed that the word "outside" enlarged the place of consumption, not the nature of the service. The disputed turnover therefore fell outside the exemption and remained liable to sales tax.

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Issues: Whether sales of cooked food and non-alcoholic drinks packed for takeaway or supplied in the customer's utensils at a price not exceeding Re. 1 per person for consumption outside the eating house fell within entry 14 of Schedule A to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: Entry 14 exempted cooked food and non-alcoholic drinks only when they were served at one time at a price not exceeding Re. 1 per person for consumption at or outside the specified eating establishments. Reading the entry in its legislative setting, the word "served" had to be understood in the context of food-service establishments that ordinarily provide table service. The phrase "for consumption" indicated an arrangement enabling consumption at the premises through table-based facilities, not mere delivery at a counter or over-the-counter handing over of packed food for home consumption. The legislative history also showed that the exemption was meant for food served in the ordinary course of eating-house service, and the added word "outside" enlarged the place of consumption, not the nature of the service.

Conclusion: The word "served" in entry 14 means service at table and does not include counter delivery of food or drinks for takeaway consumption outside the premises; the disputed turnover was therefore not covered by the exemption.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the assessee, and the taxable turnover from the disputed sales remained liable to sales tax.

Ratio Decidendi: In entry-based tax exemptions for food served for consumption at or outside an eating establishment, the expression "served" is controlled by context and denotes table service, not mere counter delivery for takeaway.

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