Classification of leco fine as coke confirmed under the Kerala sales tax schedule for declared commodities.

Leco fine was treated as coke in one of its forms because item 2(i) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act covered coal including coke in all its forms and excluded only charcoal. The absence of a separate Kerala entry for lignite or leco fine, unlike the Gujarat statute considered in the cited case, supported classification within the coal/coke entry. Relying on Karnataka and Madras decisions treating lignite-based material as coal in different forms, the Court concluded that leco fine answered the description of a declared commodity and was taxable at four per cent; the contrary view under section 35 was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether leco fine is a form of coke and therefore a declared commodity under item 2(i) of the Second Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

Analysis: Item 2(i) covers coal including coke in all its forms but excludes charcoal. There was no separate entry for lignite or leco fine in the Kerala Schedule, unlike the Gujarat statute considered in the cited decision. The material before the Court showed that leco fine was made from lignite obtained from coal fields, and the Court found support in the Karnataka and Madras decisions treating leco or lignite-based material as falling within coal in its different forms. On that basis, the Court concluded that the commodity answered the description of coke in one of its forms.

Conclusion: Leco fine is a form of coke and a declared commodity exigible to tax at four per cent, and the contrary view taken under section 35 was held unsustainable.

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