Sales tax exemption by cross-reference applied to confiscated imported textiles and cigarettes matching the scheduled description.

Sales tax exemption under section 9 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, read with entries 6 and 7 of the Third Schedule, applied to confiscated imported textiles and cigarettes because they answered the description in the corresponding items of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. The schedule reference was treated as a legislative device identifying the goods by description, not as importing a further that the goods must have been manufactured in India or borne excise duty. Once the sold goods matched the scheduled description, the exemption operated and the sales were not liable to sales tax.

---

---

Issues: Whether sales tax exemption under section 9 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 read with entries 6 and 7 of the Third Schedule was available for confiscated imported textiles and cigarettes which answered the description in the corresponding items of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944.

Analysis: The exemption turned on whether the goods sold matched the description adopted in the Third Schedule by reference to the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. Once the goods sold were found to answer that description, the exemption operated. The description in the schedule was treated as identifying the nature of the goods, and there was no basis for reading into it a further restriction that the goods must have been manufactured in India or must have borne excise duty. The Court also followed the earlier view that such cross-reference in the schedule was only a legislative device for economy of words.

Conclusion: The exemption was available. The sales of confiscated imported textiles and cigarettes were not liable to sales tax under the Act, and the revision filed by the Revenue failed.

---