HC says fruit preserved in sugar syrup in sealed tins liable for sales tax
This story was originally published at 15:26 IST on 5 December 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025
NEW DELHI – The Bombay High Court has held that goods such as pineapple slices, pineapple tidbits, and fruit cocktail preserved in a sugar syrup and canned in vacuum-sealed containers are not "fresh fruits" and hence are liable to be taxed under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. Under Entry A-23 of the Act, sales tax is not applicable on "fresh fruits".
The 1959 Act has separate entries for preserved foods, the court said. Fresh fruit is generally understood to be perishable goods in their natural state while canned foods are processed goods with a long shelf life, sold in sealed containers with preservatives, it said. A customer seeking to buy fresh fruit would not be satisfied if the vendor offered him canned pineapple slices packed and vacuum-sealed in a container, the court said.
The legislature's choice of the word "fresh" must not be ignored or made meaningless, said the bench of Justice Advait M. Sethna and Justice M.S. Sonak, adding that the word acts as a limitation. If the legislative intention was to include fruit in every form under a single entry, the legislature might have used the term "fruits", the bench said. The inclusion of the term "fresh" clearly shows an intent to exclude fruit that is not in its natural state, such as dried, frozen, canned, or preserved foods, it said.
With this ruling, the court has set aside an order of the Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal classifying Sudha Instant Soft Drinks and Essences' fruits preserved in sugar syrup and canned in vacuum-sealed containers as "fresh fruits". The court was hearing an appeal from the commissioner of sales tax, Mumbai, against the tribunal's order. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Rajeev Pai
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
