Popular meaning of fish exemption excludes cuttlefish, which was treated as a marine mollusk rather than fish.

Cuttlefish does not qualify as a variety of fish for exemption as fresh fish under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, because the term must be understood in its popular or commercial sense. Where a commodity has no settled trade meaning, dictionaries and lexicons may be used to identify its ordinary meaning. On the materials considered, cuttlefish was a non-vertebrate marine mollusk, unlike fish as vertebrate aquatic creatures; the separate tax treatment of prawns and lobsters also supported that not all aquatic animals fall within fish. The item was therefore held not exempt as fresh fish.

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Issues: Whether cuttlefish is a variety of fish and therefore exempt as fresh fish under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

Analysis: The exemption depended on whether the commodity answered the description of fish in the popular or commercial sense. The Court noted that where an item has no established trade or popular connotation, dictionaries and lexicons may be consulted to ascertain its ordinary meaning. On the materials before it, cuttlefish was found to be a non-vertebrate marine mollusk, unlike fish, which are vertebrate aquatic creatures. The Court also noted that prawns and lobsters were separately treated as taxable items, reinforcing that not all aquatic creatures fall within fish.

Conclusion: Cuttlefish is not a variety of fish and does not qualify as exempt fresh fish.

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