Common parlance test governs VAT classification of snack mixes, which were treated as residuary goods, not processed vegetables.

Commodity classification under the Karnataka VAT Act turned on common parlance and commercial identity. Snack mixes marketed as hara bara kebab, veg cutlet, cheese balls, bonda and tikki, though made mainly from dehydrated potato flakes with other ingredients, were understood in trade and by consumers as ready snack products rather than processed vegetables. The mixing in definite proportions was treated as manufacture of a new commodity. Entry 3 of the Third Schedule was construed as exhaustive, and the word "including" did not enlarge it to cover these goods. They therefore fell outside the processed-vegetables entry and were taxable under the residuary higher-rate entry.

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Issues: Whether the commodities known as Vegit snack mixes, namely hara bara kebab, veg cutlet, yummy cheese balls, mazedar bonda and jatpat tikki, fall within Entry 3 of the Third Schedule to the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act as processed vegetables taxable at 4%, or whether they are residuary goods taxable at the higher rate.

Analysis: Entry 3 covers processed fruits and vegetables, and the interpretative question was whether the word "including" enlarges that entry to cover snack mixes made mainly from dehydrated potato flakes mixed with other ingredients. Applying the common parlance and commercial identity tests, the relevant inquiry is how the goods are understood in trade and by ordinary consumers. The commodities were marketed and understood as ready snack mixes, such as cutlets, kebabs, bondas and tikki, which are distinct commercial products and not processed vegetables in their ordinary sense. The mixing of potato flakes with other ingredients in definite proportion amounted to manufacture of a new commodity. The entry was held to be exhaustive, and the word "including" was construed in the context of the entry rather than as enlarging it to cover these products.

Conclusion: The commodities do not fall under Entry 3 of the Third Schedule and are liable to be taxed under the residuary entry at the applicable higher rate, in favour of the Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The clarification treating the goods as processed vegetables was unsustainable, and the classification was restored to the residuary taxable category.

Ratio Decidendi: For commodity classification under a fiscal entry, the decisive test is the common parlance and commercial understanding of the goods, and an inclusive word does not enlarge an entry beyond the class of goods that the legislature intended to cover.

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