Taxing entry confined by "that is to say"; raw cashewnut seed falls outside the notified category.

The notification on dry or preserved fruit was confined by the words "that is to say" to fruit or the edible part of fruit that has undergone preserving treatment. Raw cashewnut seed, including the whole seed before kernel extraction, was held outside that class because it contains non-edible and poisonous portions and is commercially and functionally distinct from edible fruit. The inclusive reference to cashewnut did not enlarge the entry beyond the specified category, and noscitur a sociis supported the contextual reading. Accordingly, raw cashewnut seed was not a notified commodity under either part of the notification.

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Issues: Whether raw cashewnut seed or whole cashewnut seed is a notified commodity covered by Notification No. 2252-F.T. dated June 9, 1969 under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954.

Analysis: The notification covers dry or preserved fruit, meaning fruit or edible part of fruit that has undergone dehydration or other preserving process, and then includes specified examples, including cashewnut. The expression "that is to say" confines the general words to fruit or the edible part of fruit. Raw cashewnut seed contains non-edible and poisonous portions, and until the kernel is extracted and processed it does not become an edible fruit. The inclusive reference to cashewnut does not extend the notification to the raw seed as a whole. The principle of noscitur a sociis supports reading the entry in its contextual commercial sense.

Conclusion: Raw cashewnut seed or the whole cashewnut seed is not a notified commodity under either part of the notification.

Ratio Decidendi: A taxing entry using the words "that is to say" is confined to the class expressly described, and an inclusive reference will not enlarge it beyond that class where the commodity in question is commercially and functionally distinct.

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