Common parlance test for textiles brings HDPE woven fabric within the Haryana VAT exemption entry.

HDPE/PP woven fabric was treated as a textile under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, because the terms "textiles", "rayon", "artificial silk" and "nylon" were construed in their popular and common parlance sense rather than technically. The inclusive nature of Entry 51 of Schedule B, covering cotton, woollen or silken textiles and related varieties, brought fabric manufactured from HDPE within the exemption. A departmental clarification could not override the statutory entry as interpreted under settled principles for taxing entries, and the fabric was therefore exempt from tax.

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Issues: Whether HDPE/PP woven fabric is "artificial silk" and falls within Entry 51 of Schedule B of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, so as to be exempt from tax.

Analysis: The expression "textiles" and the related terms "rayon", "artificial silk" and "nylon" were held to be words of everyday use that must be construed in their popular and common parlance sense, not in a technical or scientific sense. Woven fabric made by the warp and weft process from HDPE/PP material is a textile. Entry 51 of Schedule B is an inclusive entry covering all varieties of cotton, woollen or silken textiles, including rayon, artificial silk or nylon, and the fabric manufactured from HDPE falls within that description. The departmental clarification to the contrary could not override the statutory entry as interpreted in the light of binding principles on construction of taxing entries.

Conclusion: HDPE woven fabric is covered by Entry 51 of Schedule B of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and is exempt from payment of tax.

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