Commissioner Of Sales Tax vs Pure Ice Cream Company on 25 February, 1975
In Commissioner of Sales Tax vs. Pure Ice Cream Company, (1975) 46 S.T.C. 18, this Bench has held that ice-cream is cooked food. Accordingly, following our decision in that case, we negative this contention of Mr. Dada. It was next submitted by Mr. Dada that the Respondent's place of business at Appollo Bunder where ice-cream was sold during the relevant periods was neither an eating house nor a restaurant nor a hotel nor a refreshment room nor a boarding establishment, Mr. Dada wished to invite our attention to the dictionary meanings of these words. In our opinion, for deciding this Reference it is wholly unnecessary to look at the dictionary to ascertain the meanings of these words. The record shows that the said place of business is a cabin where ice-cream is sold to people who come to buy it for the purpose of consumption near, at or about this cabin. There is nothing on the record to show that the customers who consumed ice-cream purchased by them were not doing so standing inside the cabin. The only argument before the Tribunal on behalf of the Department was that there was no arrangement made for the customers to sit and consume the ice-cream purchased by them. The same contention has also been taken in the Applicant's application for reference made to the Tribunal. Though normally a hotel or a restaurant or a refreshment room might have sitting arrangement for their customers to consume food and drinks purchased by them, this is not necessary and now a days we have quite a few snack bars becoming fashionable where people stand at the counter and eat. It is also not necessary that the food purchased must be consumed inside any such hotel, restaurant or eating house. The entry itself states that food and drinks should be for consumption at or outside any eating house or other establishment referred to in the said entry. Mr. Dada's argument amounts to saying that for sale of food and drinks to obtain exemption under the said entry 14, such food and drinks must be served at the place where they are eaten or intended to be eaten.