Cattle feed exemption depends on factual proof that wheat bran was actually sold for that use.

Inter-State sales of wheat bran qualified for exemption only if the goods were in fact sold for use as cattle feed. The exemption could not be denied on the existing record because the assessing authority had not made the necessary factual inquiry into whether the wheat bran was actually cattle feed or was sold for that purpose. The first appellate authority likewise lacked an independent factual basis to uphold the denial. The matter required reconsideration on evidence, with the assessee to establish the factual foundation for the exemption claim, and was remitted for fresh fact-finding and decision.

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Issues: Whether the denial of exemption on inter-State sales of wheat bran claimed to have been sold as cattle feed was sustainable without a prior factual finding that the goods were in fact sold for use as cattle feed.

Analysis: The exemption under the relevant schedule entry was not absolute but depended on the wheat bran being used as cattle feed. The assessment record did not show that the assessing authority had undertaken the necessary factual inquiry into whether the wheat bran sold in inter-State trade was actually cattle feed or was sold for that purpose. In the absence of such fact-finding, the first appellate authority also had no independent basis to sustain the denial of exemption. The matter therefore required reconsideration on evidence, with the assessee to establish the factual foundation for the exemption claim.

Conclusion: The denial of exemption could not be sustained in the absence of the required factual determination, and the matter was remitted to the assessing authority for fresh fact-finding and decision.

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