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PETITIONER: BHARUCH COCONUT TRADING CO. AND ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF THE CITY OFAHMEDABAD AND OTHERS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT27/11/1990

BENCH: RAMASWAMY, K. BENCH: RAMASWAMY, K. KULDIP SINGH (J)

CITATION:  1991 AIR  494            1990 SCR  Supl. (3) 392  1992 SCC  Supl.  (1) 298 JT 1991 (1)   234  1990 SCALE  (2)1157

ACT:     Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Act/Ahmedabad  Municipal Corporation  Rules--Rule 4 Item Nos. 10, 11  and  55--Watery coconut (brown coconut)--Eligibility to octroi.

HEADNOTE:    The appellants import and sell the brown coconut (watery coconut) from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnata- ka and Tamil Nadu and sell the same in the city of Ahmedabad as  their trading activity. Under the Municipal  Corporation rules, whenever goods are carried into or out of the  octroi limits of the Municipal Corporation, the articles  specified under the rules are liable to octroi, except of course those exempted  under  Item 10 of Rule 4. The  respondents  levied octroi on brown coconuts at the rate of Rs.1 per 100 kgm. at the  point of import into the octroi limits of the  Respond- ent’s  corporation. The rate was later enhanced to Rs.5  per 100  kg.  The appellants challenged the levy  of  octroi  on brown   coconuts  by  means  of  filling  a  writ   petition contending  that brown coconuts are green fruits within  the meaning  of  item 10 of rule 4 of the Rules  and  therefore, they are exempted articles, not exigible to octroi. The High Court  rejected  the writ petition. Hence  this  appeal,  by special leave. Dismissing the appeal, this Court,     HELD: The watery coconut (brown coconut) is not a  green fruit but is a separate entity by itself. it cannot also  be considered to be a dry fruit within the meaning of entry  11 of Rule 4. Dried fruit is distinct from the coconut.  There- fore,  the  watery  coconut (brown coconut)  does  not  fall within the meaning of item 13B of Rule 4. of the Rules also. All  articles or goods which are not specified elsewhere  in the  schedule or in the list of exempted articles  or  goods would fall under item 55 of Rule 14. Brown coconut is not an exempted  article among the list of articles in item  10  of Rule,  namely,  green fruit Brown coconut  (watery  coconut) would  fall  within item 55 of Rule 14 of the Rules  and  is exigible to octroi. [397D-E] 393     Ramavtar  Budhaiprasad  v.  Asstt.  Sales  Tax  Officer, Akola,  [1961]  12  STC  286;  Commissioner  of  Sales  Tax,

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U.P.v.S.N. Brothers, [1973] 31 STC 302; P.S. Thillai Chidam- bara  Nadar v. Addl. Appellate Asstt. Corotar., Madurai  and Anr.,  [1985] 60 STC 80; Sri Krishna Coconut Co. v.  Commer- cial  Tax  Officer, Amalapuram, [1965] 16  STC  511;  Kunchi Rajeshwara  Sastry and Sons and Anr. v. Asstt.  Commissioner of  Commercial Taxes, Kakinada and Ors., [1976] 37 STC  399; Sri Lakshmi Coconut Industries v. The State of Karnataka and Anr., [1980] 46 STC 404; Deputy Commissioner of Agrl. Income ï7 3 and  Commissioner  of  Sales-tax v. Ram  Kumar  Nand  Kumar, [1973] 31 STC 321, referred to.

JUDGMENT: