Common parlance test for vegetable exemption: thulasi leaves used in manufacture did not qualify for sales tax relief.

An exemption entry for vegetables and vegetable leaves used for human consumption was construed in its common parlance sense under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. Thulasi leaves, being an ayurvedic herb used mainly for medicinal and religious purposes rather than as food, did not fall within that ordinary meaning and were not covered by Entry 59 of the Third Schedule. Their use as a raw material in manufacture did not extend the exemption. The purchase tax under section 5A therefore remained payable, and the assessee was not entitled to exemption.

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Issues: Whether thulasi leaves purchased from unregistered dealers for manufacture of cough syrup were entitled to exemption under Entry 59 of the Third Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, so as to avoid levy of purchase tax under section 5A.

Analysis: The exemption entry covered vegetables, including roots, green fruits or leaves used for human consumption, and the illustrative items in the entry showed that the protected category was confined to vegetables in the ordinary and popular sense. Thulasi leaf was found to be an ayurvedic herb used mainly for medicinal and religious purposes, not a vegetable leaf used as food, and it did not answer the common parlance meaning of vegetables or vegetable leaves. Since the item was not covered by the exemption entry, the fact that it was used as a raw material in a manufactured product did not confer exemption.

Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to exemption on thulasi leaves, and levy of purchase tax under section 5A was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption entry for vegetables used for human consumption must be construed according to the common parlance meaning of the commodity, and an herb not ordinarily regarded as a vegetable or vegetable leaf does not qualify for exemption merely because it is used in manufacture.

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