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TMI Blog1969 (10) TMI 62X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Assistant Commissioner, but was accepted by the Appellate Tribunal. The finding of the Tribunal that pine-apple was a green fruit is challenged before us. 2.. The assessee did not appear, and therefore, we requested Mr. M.I. Joseph to appear amicus curiae and assist us. Mr. Joseph has placed a few decisions and has also adduced some useful arguments on the question before us. 3.. Two decisions of the Supreme Court are brought to our notice; and they are Ramavatar Budhaiprasad v. Assistant Sales Tax Officer, Akola[1961] 12 S.T.C. 286. and Motipur Zamindary Co. (P.) Ltd. v. State of Bihar[1962] 13 S.T.C. 1. In the second case, the Supreme Court followed its decision in the first case; and in the first case, the Supreme Court considered whet ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re "applied to any particular science or art". In the course of the discussion, the Supreme Court referred to Webster's International Dictionary defining the word "vegetable" and quoted the passage: "A plant used or cultivated for food for man or domestic animals as the cabbage, turnip, potato, bean, dandelion, etc., also the edible part of such a plant, as prepared for the market or the table. Vegetables and fruits are sometimes loosely distinguished by the usual need of cooking the former for the use of man, while the latter may be eaten raw; but the distinction often fails, as in the case of quinces, bearberries, and other fruits, and lettuce, celery and other vegetables. Tomatoes if cooked are vegetables, if eaten raw are fruits." The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of such articles are vegetables while the ripe ones are fruits. As the Supreme Court of Canada has pointed out in the decision cited, in such cases it is the meaning which people conversant with the subject-matter attribute to the term "vegetable" or "fruit" that has to be taken. To put it pithily in the language of the Canadian Supreme Court: "Would a householder when asked to bring home fruits or vegetables for the evening meal bring home salted peanuts, cashew-nuts or nuts of any sort? The answer is obviously 'no'." The same test must be applied in the present case as well; will a householder or housewife bring pine-apple if he or she is asked to bring vegetables for preparing a meal? In our opinion, the answer to this question must a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , often implying some additional sense: "(a) unripe (b) young and tender"). This meaning can apply only if the word "fruit" is taken to include the ripe and the unripe variety of an article (edible part of plant). In such a case, if the unripe variety is understood in common parlance as vegetable, then, it will come within the expression "green fruit" used in item 10. It is not uncommon, as already indicated, that "fruit" is often used to denote the ripe variety of an article (edible part of plant) if it can be eaten raw, while the unripe variety of the article, if it is cooked and used as an article of food, is designated "vegetable". It is not also uncommon that the expression "green vegetable" is sometimes used to denote leaf vegetable. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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