State of Andhra Pradesh vs Royal Cold Storage Limited

The question for consideration in this tax revision case is whether twenty-day-old prawns could be brought to tax as unclassified goods falling under the Seventh Schedule or as prawns under entry 19 of the Second Schedule. The rate of tax under entry 19 is at 5 per cent and the taxable event is at the point of first purchase in the State. The rate of tax under the Seventh Schedule is 6 per cent.

The facts not in controversy are, that the assessee, in respect of the assessment year 1993-94, sold certain quantities of baby prawns commonly called as P.L. 20 (twenty-day-old prawns). The contention of the department is that P.L. 20 stage prawns should be treated as larvae and, therefore, the turnover relatable to the purchase of the above should be subjected to tax at the higher rate of 6 per cent under the Seventh Schedule. The Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, after examining in detail the processing of larvae into prawns has recorded a finding that :

"It is at this stage, the products were sold by the appellants and they are, therefore called as P.L. 20 prawns which means the prawns which had attained the age of twenty days after post-larvae stage. As already stated above, this version regarding the various stages of breeding of the prawns is furnished by the assessing authority himself in the assessment orders. The sale had taken place after the product has passed beyond the stage of larvae and twenty days had lapsed after the products developed into post-larvae stage. The contention of the appellants is that the prawns sold by them are infant prawns or juvenile prawns as they were of the age of twenty days that such prawns nevertheless are to be considered as ''prawns'' falling under entry 19 which makes no difference between such juvenile prawns and adult or grown up prawns and that therefore such prawns sold by them cannot be considered as general goods even though they were sold as prawn seeds."

Having regard to the finding of fact recorded by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal that what was sold was not larvae but twenty-day-old prawns, the contention of the learned Special Government Pleader that the products sold by the assessee should be construed as larvae cannot be accepted. No question of law arises out of the order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal for our consideration. Therefore, the tax revision case fails and accordingly it is dismissed at the admission stage.

Petition dismissed.