Sealed container test for dressed chicken: stapled or crimped polythene bags fall within the taxable entry.

Dressed chicken packed in polythene bags closed by stapling or by crimping and twisting aluminium wire is treated as sold in a sealed container and therefore falls within the taxable entry rather than the exemption for meat and poultry. A sealed container does not require hermetic or airtight closure; it is enough that access to the contents is not possible without breaking the fastening or the container itself. The fastening may be undone, torn, or otherwise removed. On that construction, stapled or crimped bags containing dressed chicken are taxable.

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Issues: Whether dressed chicken sold in polythene bags closed by stapling or by crimping and twisting an aluminium wire is sold in a sealed container so as to fall within the taxable entry and outside the exemption.

Analysis: The relevant statutory scheme exempted eggs and meat including flesh of poultry unless sold in sealed containers, while the corresponding taxable entry covered meat and dressed chicken sold in sealed containers. The expression "sealed container" was construed in the light of earlier authority to mean a container so closed that access to the contents is not possible without breaking the fastening or the container itself. A hermetically sealed or airtight package is not required. "Breaking" the fastening includes undoing, parting, tearing, or otherwise removing the staple or crimp so as to defeat the closure. On the facts found, the dressed chicken was packed in polythene bags that could not be opened or accessed without removing the staple or crimp wire.

Conclusion: Dressed chicken sold in stapled or crimped polythene bags is sold in sealed containers and is liable to tax under the taxable entry.

Ratio Decidendi: A container is a sealed container if its contents cannot be accessed without breaking the fastening or the container, and hermetic sealing is not necessary.

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