TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (7) TMI 655
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....Tax Tribunal to consider as to whether the malt having been obtained from barley can be treated as foodgrain including the cereals outside the provisions of section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act and falls under notifications dated May 30, 1975, September 11, 1976 and April 30, 1977. The Tribunal was also directed that the finding of the court was to be treated as final and malt and barley are two different commodities and malt does not fall within the definition of the word "cereal" as defined under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act. On the basis of this direction the matter went before the Tribunal to consider whether the malt was foodgrain and cereals other than cereals as defined under section 14 of the Central Sales Tax Act and falls under item No. 3 of the Notification No. ST-11-2712/X-6(8)-77 dated April 30, 1977, wherein the first purchase is to be taxed at the rate of 4 per cent for the purchase of the said goods only. 2.. Learned counsel for the department argued that barley and malt are two different items and malt cannot be considered to be foodgrain or cereal and it is an industrial product. It is not a foodgrain and as such, the said item could not fall unde....
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....des all grains which are used as food by human beings. Paddy, as such, is not fit for human consumption, but encased inside it is rice, which is taken out from paddy by a process called husking or hulling. Even in commercial world the paddy is regarded as foodgrain. 4.. Mr. Bharat Ji Agarwal, on the contrary, argued that there is no distinction between malt and barley. Malt is sprouted barley. The physical identity is not lost and as a matter of fact malting is only a process and other cereals such as wheat, oat, rice, etc., are also malted. Barley having been converted into malt, it is still having food value and capable of being used as seed. Assuming that the said item of barley and malt are two different items still malt is a cereal and continues to be cereal. It is foodgrain item used for food purposes even after barley is malted into malt. The different food processing units use malt in different food products such as Horlicks, Boost, Nutramul and Complan, etc. The malt does not lose its food value of barley. It continues to be barley in different form. Even the manufacturers of alcohol, beer, whisky, etc., use barley in liquid and fermented form. As such, malt though d....
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.... 6.. In order to appreciate the arguments of the Revenue and the assessee I have to refer to some definitions and dictionary meaning of the words "barley" and "malt". In Volume 26 of Words and Phrases, Permanent Edition, "malt" or "malted barley" is defined as follows: "'Malt' or 'malted barley' is 'grain' within statute requiring elevator and warehouse...... 'Malted barley' is barley that has been germinated and the germination stopped at a suitable point of the development of the sprout by the application of heat and drying. The grain is indistinguishable from barley in appearance except to the extent that the sprout changes its appearance. It has somewhat different properties but it is still capable of being used as seed and it has not lost its physical identity." In Chambers' Encyclopaedia, New Revised Edition, Volume IX, the word "malt" has been defined as under: "Malt is barley which has been moistened, allowed to sprout or germinate and then dried. Sometimes other cereals such as wheat, oats, rye and maize are also malted." The words "barley" and "malt" have been defined in the Handbook of Agriculture (facts and figures for farmers, students and al....
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....-relating to grain or to the plants, that produce it; made of grain; a prepared foodstuff of grain, (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary). Cereal means grain used as food, such as wheat, barley, etc. (Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary)." 7.. According to the New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, Volume 3, 15 Edition, cereals or grains are members of the grass family cultivated primarily for their starchy seeds (technically, dry fruits), which are used for human food, livestock feed and as a source of industrial starch. Wheat, rice, maize (called corns in the U.S.), rye, oats, barley, sorghum and some of the millets are common cereals. 8.. From the aforesaid definitions, it is very clear that malt is another form of barley. Malting is a process whereby barley is germinated and sprouted. Such malting process is also used in other cereals like wheat, maize, oats, etc., which are malted, as such, malt is nothing but sprouted and germinated barley. In Hindi language meaning of the word "barley" is Jau. Malt is also known as Jau and there is no word equivalent in Hindi for the English word "malt". At least, learned Standing Counsel for the Department was unable to te....