Common parlance test governs classification of infant cereal products as specialised preparations, not ordinary food-stuffs

Classification of specialised infant cereal products under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act turns on the common parlance and commercial understanding of "food" and "food-stuff", not merely on whether a product provides nourishment. Applying that test, preparations meant for infants were treated as specialised products rather than ordinary food for the relevant consumer class. As a result, the products did not fall within entry 6 of Schedule III and were classified under the residuary entry 13.

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Issues: Whether the products "Nestle Nestum Baby Cereal" and "Nestle Nestum" were classifiable as food-stuffs under entry 6 of Schedule III to the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, or under the residuary entry 13 of the same Schedule.

Analysis: The classification depended on the meaning of "food" and "food-stuff" in common parlance and the applied commercial test. The relevant inquiry was whether the commodities would ordinarily be offered or understood as normal food for the consumer class for whom they were meant. Applying the common parlance approach, and following the principle that a preparation is not necessarily food-stuff merely because it provides nourishment or sustenance, the products in question were found to be specialised preparations for infants rather than ordinary food. Consequently, they did not fit within entry 6 and instead attracted the residuary provision.

Conclusion: The two products were not food-stuffs under entry 6 of Schedule III and were rightly classified under entry 13, the residuary entry, in favour of the assessee.

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