K.P. Radhakrishna Menon, J.
1. The Revenue is the revision petitioner. The year of assessment is 1974-75.
2. The only question arising for consideration is 'whether the Tribunal is justified in holding that garlic is a vegetable ?
3. The term 'garlic' is not defined in the Kerala General Sales Tax Act; for that matter there is no definition of the term 'vegetables' also. According to the learned counsel for the Revenue, 'garlic' cannot be included within the meaning of the term 'vegetables'-commonly known as any kind of plant life or plant product. Garlic, the learned counsel for the Revenue submits, is a spice and if that be so, the sale of the same would attract sales tax. The assessment, the Assistant Commissioner has entered treating garlic as a spice, requires to be sustained. The Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) upheld the aforesaid assessment. The order of the Tribunal interfering with the assessment order treating garlic as a vegetable, therefore is liable to be vacated, the learned counsel submits.
4. The Supreme Court in State of West Bengal v. Washi Ahmed [1977] 39 STC 378 has held thus :
The word 'vegetables' in item 6 of Schedule I to the Act must be construed as understood in common parlance and it must be given its popular sense meaning 'that sense which people conversant with the subject-matter with which the statute is dealing would attribute to it' and, so construed, it denotes those classes of vegetables which are grown in a kitchen garden or in a farm and are used for the table. Green ginger is generally regarded as included within the meaning of the word 'vegetable' as understood in common parlance.
5. The question thus arising for consideration is whether 'garlic', going by the above definition of the word 'vegetables' given by the Supreme Court, is a vegetable. That it is used for the table cannot be disputed. That it is grown in farms cannot be challenged. May be that it is not a principal item of the meal, but it certainly forms part of the meal in some form or other. Taking these aspects into consideration the Orissa High Court has held in State of Orissa v. Bhagawandas Ashok Kumar [1982] 51 STC 74 that 'garlic was vegetable and was, therefore, free from sales tax'. The Orissa High Court held so while considering the scope of the notification issued by the Government in the year 1974 excluding garlic from the exempted category of goods. The Orissa High Court in the course of the judgment observed that ''ordinarily, what is grown in the kitchen garden goes in the classification of vegetables and it is common experience that very often garlic finds place in the kitchen garden'. With respect we concur with the above view of the Orissa High Court.
6. The learned counsel for the Revenue, however, argued that inasmuch as garlic is not grown in the kitchen garden in Kerala, it cannot be treated as vegetable in the State of Kerala. We are not impressed by this argument. If garlic can be treated as 'vegetable' in some parts of the country, one fails to see why it cannot be treated as vegetable in the other parts of the country.
7. It is interesting to note in this connection as to how Encyclopaedia Britannica has defined the word 'vegetable'. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 22 at page 934 defines 'vegetable' thus:
'Vegetable', in its broadest sense, refers to any kind of plant life or plant product. However, in common, narrow usage 'vegetable' usually refers to the fresh, edible portion of a herbaceous plant-roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or fruit. These plant parts are eaten fresh or prepared in a number of ways. The edible portion may be a root-rutabaga, beet, carrot, sweet potato; tuber (storage stem) -potato, yam, taro; stem-asparagus, kohlrabi; bud-Brussels sprouts; bulb- onion garlic; petiole-celery, rhubarb, fennel; leaf-cabbage, lettuce, parsley, spinach, chive; immature flower-cauliflower, broccoli, artichoke; seed-pea, lima bean; immature fruit-eggplant, cucumber, sweet corn (maize); mature fruit -watermelon, tomato, pepper.
To the common man both onion and garlic are one and the same. Onion to the common man is *'chuvannulli' while garlic is known as *'veluthulli'. Both are used in the preparation of meals, dishes, etc., for the table. It is not disputed that *'chuvannulli' is a vegetable. In common parlance also both onion and garlic are vegetables. Garlic therefore is eligible for the exemption from sales tax.
8. For the reasons stated above, we hold that the Tribunal has rightly held that garlic is a vegetable and hence eligible for tax exemption.
The tax revision case is without merits. Accordingly the same is dismissed. No costs.
*Word in Malayalam transliterated in English.