Broad meaning of timber under sales tax law brings rubber trees outside agricultural produce exemption.

Rubber trees were held to fall within the statutory exclusion for "timber" under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, so they did not qualify as agricultural produce. The term "timber" was construed in its broad accepted sense, informed by legal dictionaries and commercial usage, rather than being confined to wood suitable only for buildings or repairs. Because rubber trees were capable of use for construction and similar purposes, their sale proceeds were treated as taxable and the assessee was denied the agricultural produce exemption.

---

---

Issues: Whether rubber trees sold by the assessee fall within the expression "timber" and are therefore excluded from "agricultural produce" under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act.

Analysis: The exclusion in the turnover definition removes agricultural produce, but the statutory explanation specifically excludes tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom and timber from that category. The expression "timber" was construed in its broader accepted sense, supported by legal dictionaries and commercial usage, not in a narrow sense confined to wood fit only for buildings or repairs. On that approach, rubber trees were treated as capable of falling within timber, especially when used for construction purposes in local practice.

Conclusion: Rubber trees are timber within the meaning of the statutory explanation and are not agricultural produce. The sale proceeds were therefore liable to tax, against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a sales tax statute excludes "timber" from agricultural produce, the term is to be given its accepted broad meaning, and trees capable of being used for construction or similar purposes may fall within that exclusion.

---