Allahabad HC: 'Parag Pashu Aahar' qualifies as cattle fodder for tax exemption

The Allahabad High Court held that "Parag Pashu Aahar" manufactured and sold as concentrate for cattle should be included in the term "cattle fodder" for tax exemption before the 1994 amendment excluding "cattle feed." The court upheld a previous judgment, ruling that the petitioner's product falls within the definition of "cattle fodder" for trade tax purposes. As a result, the court directed the inclusion of the petitioner's product in "cattle fodder" for assessing trade tax liability and granting exemption for the relevant pre-1994 assessment years.

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Issues: Interpretation of the term "cattle fodder" for tax exemption before and after a specific amendment.

In this judgment by the Allahabad High Court, the issues revolved around the interpretation of the term "cattle fodder" for tax exemption in assessment years prior to a specific amendment. The assessment years in question were 1985-86, 1988-89, and 1989-90, all before the amendment dated October 10, 1994, which excluded "cattle feed" from "cattle fodder" for tax purposes. The court considered whether a product called "Parag Pashu Aahar," manufactured and sold as concentrate for cattle, should be included in the term "cattle fodder" as per the relevant notification.

The court referred to a previous judgment by a single judge where it was held that "Parag Pashu Aahar" would be considered as part of "cattle fodder" under the pre-1994 position and thus exempt from trade tax. The court found no compelling reason to deviate from this interpretation. Consequently, the court directed that the "cattle feed" manufactured by the petitioner should be included in "cattle fodder" for the computation of trade tax liability and exemption for the assessment years involved, all of which were before 1994. The judgment relied on the earlier decision and maintained consistency in the interpretation of the term "cattle fodder" for tax purposes.

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