Cereal classification for sales tax: sewai retains wheat-based identity and qualifies for the special rate.

Sewai was treated as falling within the expression "cereals" for the sales tax notification because it is made from maida derived from wheat, and processing does not destroy the essential cereal identity unless the commodity becomes wholly unidentifiable as a cereal. The Patna HC treated the notification's listing of items under the genus "cereals and pulses" as illustrative, and relied on the continued identity of processed forms such as atta, maida and suji to hold that classification depends on whether the article remains a cereal derivative. Sewai was therefore taxable at the special rate applicable to cereals, not the general rate.

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Issues: Whether sewai falls within the expression "cereals" in the relevant sales tax notification and is therefore taxable at the special rate applicable to cereals, rather than at the general rate.

Analysis: Sewai is prepared from maida, which itself is derived from wheat. Although the process changes the original form of the grain, the essential character of the commodity is not destroyed unless the transformation makes it wholly unidentifiable as a cereal. The notification was treated as illustrative in its enumeration of items under the genus "cereals and pulses", and the presence of other forms such as atta, maida and suji showed that the classification depended on whether the article retained its identity as derived from cereals. The reasoning that each processed form may become a separate commodity for some purposes did not assist the department, because the processed article may still continue to belong to the same genus.

Conclusion: Sewai is a cereal for the purpose of the notification and is taxable at the special rate applicable to cereals, not at the general rate.

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