Organic manure exemption under Kerala sales tax law depends on natural derivation, not technical labels or unrelated excise classification.

Entry 17 of the Third Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 confines exemption to manure produced or derived naturally from plants or animals, without manufacturing or chemical intervention, except for the specific items expressly included. The Court held that Ecohume, described in the assessee's own material as a bio-pesticide or plant bio-stimulant, was not shown to satisfy that statutory description. Certificates and the CESTAT order relied on by the Tribunal were insufficient, and Central Excise classification was not determinative for the Kerala entry. The product therefore did not qualify as organic manure, and the Revenue's classification prevailed.

---

---

Issues: Whether the product 'Ecohume' was classifiable as 'organic manure' under Entry 17 of the Third Schedule of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, and therefore exempt from tax, or whether it fell under Entry 47 of the First Schedule.

Analysis: Entry 17 of the Third Schedule covers specified natural manures and organic manure produced or derived naturally from plants or animals. The surrounding items in the entry and the Explanation show that the exemption is confined to manure obtained by a natural process, without manufacturing or chemical intervention, save for the specifically included neem cake and crushed neem fruit. The product was described in the assessee's own material as a bio-pesticide or plant bio-stimulant, and the certificates and the CESTAT order relied on by the Tribunal did not establish that it was organic manure within the meaning of the Kerala enactment. The classification under the Central Excise Tariff was not analogous, and the Tribunal had relied on irrelevant materials without properly applying the statutory entry and its Explanation.

Conclusion: The product 'Ecohume' was not entitled to exemption under Entry 17 of the Third Schedule and was not an organic manure within the meaning of the Act; the Revenue's classification was upheld and the assessee's claim failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For exemption under Entry 17 of the Third Schedule of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, the product must be shown to be a manure produced or derived naturally from plants or animals, and materials showing a different commercial or technical character cannot establish entitlement to the exemption.

---