Classification of cooking medium as vegetable oil turns on true nature and specific entry precedence under VAT schedule

A cooking medium made from milk fats and other natural fats was classified on the basis of its true nature and common trade understanding, not the assessee's description. Applying the ordinary and popular meaning of the schedule entries, it answered the description of edible oil and also fell within the broader expression vegetable oil because it was prepared from vegetable-origin ingredients. Where a commodity fits two entries, the more specific entry prevails over the general one, so classification was held to follow the specific vegetable oil entry rather than edible oil.

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Issues: Whether the commodity manufactured by the assessee was classifiable as edible oil under Entry 687 of Schedule II, Part-A of the Value Added Tax Act, 2008, or as vegetable oil under Entry 2331 of the same Schedule.

Analysis: The commodity was found to be a cooking medium made from milk fats and other natural fats. Its nature and substance, rather than the assessee's description, determined classification. Applying the ordinary and popular meaning of the entries, the commodity answered the description of edible oil. It also fell within the wider expression vegetable oil because it was prepared from vegetable-origin ingredients. Where the same commodity answers two entries, the more specific entry prevails over the general one. Since vegetable oil is a specific entry compared with edible oil and oilcake in the schedule, the classification had to follow the specific entry.

Conclusion: The commodity was taxable under Entry 2331 as vegetable oil including gingili oil and bran oil, and not under Entry 687.

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