'Hing' is a spice: Bombay High Court allows Nashik APMC to levy market fee

The Bombay High Court has held that the 'Hing' (asafoetida) falls within the statutory entry of मसाल्याचे पदार्थ (spices) under a notification issued by the State government in 2005 [The Nashik Agricultural Produce Market Committee v. NG Thakkar & Sons & Ors.].Justice Amit Borkar thus set aside a September 2014 order of the Maharashtra government and an October 2011 order of the Director of Marketing, which had restrained the Nashik Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) from collecting market fees on Hing on the ground that it was not explicitly named in the statutory list.The Court held that the APMC was entitled to levy market fees on Hing under the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development & Regulation) Act.“It is held that 'Hing' or 'Asafoetida' is covered by the expression 'मसाल्याचे पदार्थ' in the Notification dated 8 December 2005. The Petitioner is consequently entitled to levy and recover market fee in accordance with Section 31 of the Said Act,” the Court said on September 1..The Court examined statutory frameworks, including the Spices Board Act, the Customs Tariff Act and food safety standards to hold that Indian law consistently treats Hing as a spice."Once it is accepted that 'Asafoetida' is a spice, there is no sufficient reason in the material before the Court to exclude Hing from the general expression 'मसाल्याचे पदार्थ' merely because its individual name is not separately repeated in the Schedule," the Bench said..The issue arose when Nashik-based trader NG Thakkar & Sons challenged the APMC’s collection of market fees under Section 31 of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development & Regulation) Act, 1963. The trading firm wrote to the Director of Marketing that Hing was missing from the specific list of agricultural produce in the notification dated December 8, 2005, as well as the Schedule to the 1963 Act.The Director of Marketing in 2011 ruled in favor of the trader, holding that market fees could not be levied on Hing. This decision was later affirmed in appeal by the Minister of State. .The Nashik APMC then approached the High Court, contending that Hing is legally and commercially recognized as a spice.Justice Borkar observed that when the Central Act includes “Asafoetida” in its schedule of spices, the submission that Hing cannot be regarded as a spice at all cannot be accepted.The Court rejected the argument that a commodity must be individually named to be regulated."If the State Government has used a class expression such as “मसाल्याचे पदार्थ", then a commodity which properly falls within that class cannot be excluded only because its individual name is not separately mentioned. Otherwise, the general expression would have little meaning," the Court observed while allowing the petition filed by Nashik APMC. .Advocate Nikhil Pujari appeared for Nashik APMC. Advocate Himanshu B Takke represented NG Thakkar & Sons.Additional government pleader Dhruti Kapadia appeared for State..[Read Judgment]