Exempt classification for aqua culture bacterial culture upheld where product evidence outweighed third-party clarification.

Products described as bacterial culture and organic manure used in aqua culture were held to fall within the exempt entry for goods under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act rather than the residuary taxable entry. The Court noted that the product literature and expert certificate showed the goods were used to maintain water quality and support healthy shrimp culture, while the assessment order relied on a clarification issued for a third-party dealer without establishing that the goods were the same. In the absence of independent factual examination by the Assessing Authority, the petitioner's classification claim was accepted and the assessment was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the products sold by the petitioner, namely bacterial culture/organic manure used in aqua culture, were classifiable under Entry 7 of the Third Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 as exempt goods, or were liable to be taxed under the residuary entry.

Analysis: The product literature and the expert certificate on record showed that the relevant products were organic manure or bacterial culture used for maintaining water quality and supporting healthy shrimp culture. The assessment order did not rest on an independent examination of the actual product characteristics and instead relied on a clarification issued in the case of a third party dealer, without showing that the goods were the same. In the absence of factual analysis by the Assessing Authority, and in view of the material placed by the petitioner, the goods fell within the exempt entry rather than the residuary entry.

Conclusion: The classification claim of the petitioner was accepted and the impugned assessment was set aside.

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