Sealed plastic bags are "sealed containers" for sales tax purposes, so the common salt exemption does not apply.

Common salt sold in sealed plastic bags falls within the expression "sealed containers" in item 5 of Schedule B to the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973. A plastic bag sealed so that access to the contents requires breaking or tearing the seal is a container in ordinary commercial understanding, and prior interpretations supported that reading. The administrative clarification did not change the statutory test but merely reflected it. The common parlance argument was rejected because sealed plastic bags are understood as containers in everyday use, so the exemption for common salt did not apply and sales tax on such sales is valid.

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Issues: Whether common salt sold in sealed plastic bags falls within the expression "sealed containers" in item 5 of Schedule B to the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, and is therefore taxable.

Analysis: The exemption for common salt under item 5 of Schedule B was confined to salt not sold in sealed containers. A plastic bag that is sealed so that access to the contents is possible only by breaking or tearing the seal is a container in ordinary commercial understanding. The interpretation of "sealed container" adopted in prior decisions supported that meaning. The administrative clarification merely reiterated the statutory position and did not alter the legal test. The common parlance argument was rejected because sealed plastic bags are understood as containers in everyday use.

Conclusion: Sealed plastic bags in which salt is sold fall within the meaning of "sealed containers", and the levy of sales tax on such sales is valid.

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