Page 109 - GSTL_16th July 2020_Vol. 38_Part 3

2020 ] IN RE : MAGNAM NETLINK PVT. LTD. 347
(c) Such work should pertain to mechanised food grain handling system, ma-
chinery or equipment for units processing agricultural produce as food
stuff excluding alcoholic beverages.
- Agricultural Produce is defined under clause (d) of the defini-
tion section under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax
(Rate), dated 28-6-2017 as under :
[(d) “agricultural produce” means any produce out of culti-
vation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals, except the
rearing of horses, for food, fibre, fuel, raw material or other
similar products, on which either no further processing is done or
such processing is done as is usually done by a cultivator or produc-
er which does not alter its essential characteristics but makes it mar-
ketable for primary market;]
- The Dairy plant to be set up by the applicant is a unit which
shall process agricultural produce as food stuff. As per by-
laws of the client, ‘Bihar State Milk Co-operative Federation
Limited’, the objective of the Federation shall be ‘to carry out
activities for promoting production, procurement, processing
and marketing of milk and milk products for economic devel-
opment of the farming community, as stated at para 3.1 of the
said by-laws. The main input, for the Dairy plant which is to
be set up by the applicant, is in the form of raw- milk ob-
tained from various farmers in the region. Said raw milk shall
be processed by the Dairy which will be set up to produce
various milk products including packaged milk as well as other
ancillary food products.
- The Milk is a produce arising out of rearing of life form of an-
imals for food, on which either no further processing is done
or such processing is done as is usually done by a cultivator
or producer which does not alter its essential characteristics
but makes it marketable for primary market. The input for
the Dairy, in the form of raw-milk obtained by farmers, is out
of rearing of animals and the same is clearly for food. In ab-
sence of any further processing on the same the said raw milk
is clearly an agricultural produce.
- Said condition also requires that the processing which is to be
carried out by the unit should result in food stuff. In common
parlance ‘food’ is something that is eaten. In a wider sense
‘food’ may include not only solid substances but also a drink.
Still the fact remains that whether a solid or a liquid, the sub-
stance called ‘food’ should possess the quality to maintain life
and its growth; it must have nutritive or nourishing value so
as to enable the growth, repair or maintenance of the body, as
held by the Apex Court in the case of M/s. Harrisons Malaya-
lam [(2004) 1 SCC 256]. Applying this decision, the packaged
milk as well as milk products processed by the dairy which is
to be set-up by the applicant are clearly “food stuff” as some-
thing that is eaten and possesses the quality to maintain life
and its growth. Applying the above definitions, packaged
milk as well as other milk products are clearly “food stuff”
GST LAW TIMES  16th July 2020  109