Halwai exemption for namkin upheld where preparation through servants did not defeat sales tax relief under the notification.

The sales tax exemption for cooked food prepared and sold by specified traders, including halwais, applied to namkin where the assessee was found to be a halwai and the goods fell within the exempt category. The use of servants or payment of labour charges for preparation did not take the assessee outside the notification, because the exemption was not limited to a self-employed halwai. On that basis, the namkin sold by the assessee was treated as exempt from sales tax under Notification No. 965-V-ST dated 31 March 1964.

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Issues: Whether the assessee fell within the category of a halwai and whether namkin sold by it was exempt from sales tax under Notification No. 965-V-ST dated 31st March, 1964.

Analysis: The exemption notification covered cooked food prepared and sold by specified classes of traders, including halwais, while excluding certain listed confectioneries. The finding recorded was that the assessee was, at the material time, a halwai, and the goods sold fell within the exempt category. The use of servants or payment of labour charges for preparation did not take the assessee outside the notification, since the exemption was not confined to a self-employed halwai.

Conclusion: The assessee was a halwai and the namkin sold by it was exempt from sales tax under Notification No. 965-V-ST dated 31st March, 1964, in favour of the assessee.

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