Common parlance test excludes green mango slices in brine from preserved fruit for sales tax purposes.

Green mango slices in brine were held not to fall within the category of dry or preserved fruit under Notification No. 2252-F.T. dated 9 June 1969 for purposes of taxation under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954. The tribunal applied the common parlance and commercial understanding test because "fruit" was not defined in the relevant statutes. On that basis, green mango was not ordinarily understood in trade or common use as a fruit, although ripe mango would be. As the commodity was not a fruit in the first place, it could not be treated as preserved fruit, and the tax liability asserted on that footing was not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether green mango slices in brine are a preserved fruit within the meaning of Notification No. 2252-F.T. dated 9th June, 1969 and hence taxable under section 25 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954.

Analysis: The notification applied only to dry or preserved fruit, and the commodity had to be a fruit before any question of preservation or dehydration could arise. The expression "fruit" was not defined in either the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 or the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954, so its meaning had to be gathered from common or commercial parlance. On that test, green mango was not understood as a fruit in trade or ordinary use, even though ripe mango would be. Since the article itself was not a fruit in common parlance, it could not fall within the notified category of dry or preserved fruit.

Conclusion: The notification did not apply to green mango slices in brine, and the tax liability fastened on the applicant could not be sustained.

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