Hamdard v. Commissioner, Commercial Tax, U.P.
Supreme Court of IndiaSupreme Court of India, 2026, February judgment reference 197Bench: BV Nagarathna; R Mahadevan
Observing that marketing labels cannot dictate a product's tax category, the Supreme Court (February 25) held 'Rooh Afza' to be a fruit-based beverage preparation intended for dilution, qualifying for a concessional tax rate of 4%, despite it being marketed as a 'Sharbat', which attracts a higher tax rate of 12.5%.