De-oiled rice bran retains its identity as rice bran and qualifies for sales tax exemption.

De-oiled rice bran retains the essential character and commercial identity of rice bran because oil extraction does not create a new commodity. Applying the Schedule I exemption under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994, the Court treated de-oiled rice bran as falling within the entry for rice bran rather than as an unspecified taxable good. Sales tax was therefore not leviable on its sale, the adverse assessment and appellate orders were set aside, and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment consistent with that declaration.

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Issues: Whether de-oiled rice bran is the same commodity as rice bran and, if so, whether it falls within the exemption in Schedule I of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Analysis: The goods schedule exempted husk and bran of cereals and pulses, except rice bran, and the taxing schedule covered unspecified goods unless they were brought within the exempted entries. The determining question was whether removal of oil from rice bran changed its commercial and physical identity. The reasoning accepted that de-oiled rice bran is obtained only by extraction of oil from rice bran, leaving the same basic commodity with altered oil content. The Court rejected the view that the product becomes a different commodity merely because of the prefix "de-oiled", and preferred the reasoning that the substratum and essential character remain that of rice bran.

Conclusion: De-oiled rice bran is rice bran and not a distinct commodity; it is covered by Schedule I, clause 14(c)(ii), and no sales tax is leviable on its sale.

Final Conclusion: The exemption applies to de-oiled rice bran, the assessment and appellate orders were set aside, and the matter was sent back for fresh assessment in accordance with that declaration.

Ratio Decidendi: A commodity does not lose its identity merely because a component is extracted from it, if its essential character and commercial identity remain the same.

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