Packed instant food mixes in stitched bags qualify as sealed-container food and are taxable under the entry.

Idli instant mix, vada instant mix and jamoon instant mix packed in firmly stitched polythene bags were treated as goods sold in sealed containers because the contents could not be accessed without breaking the fastening. The expression "food" was construed in its common parlance and popular sense, and the instant mixes were held to fall within that meaning even though they required further mixing, roasting or heating before consumption. Entry 98 of the Second Schedule was read to include such packed foods, and the goods were therefore exigible to tax at 8 per cent. The assessee's classification challenge failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether idli instant mix, vada instant mix and jamoon instant mix sold in stitched polythene bags were goods sold in sealed containers and whether they fell within the expression "food" under entry 98 of the Second Schedule to the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957.

Analysis: The goods were packed in polythene bags firmly stitched at the openings, making access to the contents impossible without breaking the fastening, and therefore they were sold in sealed containers. The expression "food" was not defined in the Act and had to be understood in its common parlance and popular sense. On the nature of the goods and the process required to prepare them for consumption, the instant mixes were treated as food, even though they required further mixing, roasting or heating before being ready to eat. The object and scheme of entry 98 also supported inclusion of such packed foods within the taxable category.

Conclusion: The goods were food packed in sealed containers within entry 98 of the Second Schedule and were exigible to tax at 8 per cent. The assessee's contention failed and the revenue's classification was upheld.

---