Technical pesticide inputs excluded from negative list where expert evidence showed they were manufacturing ingredients, sustaining tax exemption.

Monocrotophos (technical) and Dichlorvos (technical) were treated as technical grade inputs, not as pesticides directly used by farmers. The classification dispute under the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules turned on expert evidence from the plant protection wing, which found the products were used only as ingredients in manufacturing approved pesticide formulations. The Court held that such technical classification by expert authority should ordinarily be respected unless shown to be arbitrary or unsupported by material. On that basis, the products were not brought within the negative list entry, and eligibility for sales tax exemption under rule 28A was sustained.

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Issues: Whether Monocrotophos (technical) and Dichlorvos (technical) manufactured by the industrial unit fell within entry 43 of the negative list in Schedule III to the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975 so as to deny eligibility for sales tax exemption under rule 28A.

Analysis: The classification dispute turned on a technical question whether the products were pesticides or only chemical inputs used for making approved pesticide formulations. The appellate authority relied on expert opinion from the plant protection wing, which found that the products were technical grade materials not directly used by farmers as pesticides and were used only as ingredients in manufacturing approved formulations. In a matter of this nature, the Court held that it must ordinarily defer to expert determination unless the finding is shown to be arbitrary or unsupported by material.

Conclusion: The products were not shown to fall within the negative list entry for pesticides manufacturing and formulations, and the order granting eligibility for sales tax benefit was sustained.

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