Specific tax entry prevails for tomato sauce, which falls within processed and preserved vegetables rather than unclassified goods.

Tomato sauce was treated as a processed and preserved vegetable within entry 6 of Schedule IIB to the Uttarakhand VAT Act because the entry was broad enough to cover products made from tomato, even if not named expressly. The ruling applied the principle that a specific tax entry prevails over a residuary or unclassified entry when the goods reasonably fit the specific description, and the circular classifying tomato sauce as unclassified was therefore unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether tomato sauce is covered by entry 6 of Schedule IIB to the Uttarakhand Value Added Tax Act, 2005 as a processed and preserved vegetable, or is liable to be treated as an unclassified item.

Analysis: Entry 6 of Schedule IIB taxes all processed and preserved vegetables and, by its wording, is broad enough to include tomato sauce even though the item is not named separately. Tomato is treated as a vegetable in trade parlance, and tomato sauce is a processed product made from tomato with salt, spices and preservatives. Since fresh vegetables are separately exempt under Schedule I, the product in question cannot be treated as fresh vegetable, but its character remains that of a processed vegetable. Where two views are possible, a specific entry is preferred over a residuary classification, and resort to the unclassified rate is not justified when the goods can reasonably fall within the specific entry.

Conclusion: Tomato sauce is covered by entry 6 of Schedule IIB as a processed and preserved vegetable, and the circular treating it as an unclassified item was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The tax classification adopted by the Revenue was set aside and the assessee's treatment of tomato sauce within the specific schedule entry was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: When goods reasonably fall within a specific tariff or tax entry, they cannot be shifted to a residuary or unclassified entry merely because they are not named expressly, especially where the statutory language is wide enough to cover them.

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