Common parlance test governs classification of manufactured sand, which falls within the specific VAT entry.

Manufactured sand was treated as falling within Entry 83 of the Third Schedule to the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 because it is understood as "sand" in common, trade and consumer parlance. The Court applied the common parlance, trade parlance, popular meaning and user tests, noted that M-sand has similar physical properties to river sand and is used for construction, and held that the residuary entry could not be invoked without cogent material from the revenue. The later notification dated 31.03.2015 was treated as clarificatory and did not displace the assessee's classification for the relevant period.

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Issues: Whether manufactured sand (M-sand) falls within Entry 83 of the Third Schedule to the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003, or is liable to be taxed under the residuary entry.

Analysis: Entry 83 covers "sand and grits", and the decisive question was whether manufactured sand is excluded from that expression. The Court applied the common parlance, trade parlance, popular meaning and user tests and held that M-sand is understood as sand in ordinary commercial and consumer usage. It noticed that the material on record showed similar physical properties between river sand and manufactured sand, and that M-sand is used for construction. The Court also held that the burden lay on the revenue to justify resort to the residuary entry, which could not be done merely by relying on the later notification reducing the tax rate. The notification dated 31.03.2015 was treated as clarificatory and not as negating the assessee's claim for the relevant period.

Conclusion: Manufactured sand is covered by Entry 83 of the Third Schedule to the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and is not taxable under the residuary entry; the answer is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: For classification under a taxing entry, goods must be understood in common parlance and not in a technical sense; where a specific entry reasonably covers the commodity, the residuary entry cannot be invoked without cogent material from the taxing authority.

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