This report was prepared as part of internal legal research for the Indian Food Informatics Data (IFID) project. During our initial analysis, we operated under the assumption that common parlance remained the prevalent standard in food classification disputes. However, as we systematically examined case law across GST, customs, food safety, and labeling domains, we discovered a significant judicial shift—culminating in the January 2026 Supreme Court ruling that formally established a hierarchical framework prioritizing statutory interpretation and technical definitions over common parlance. We are publishing this synthesis after a subject matter expert review indicated its broader value to researchers working at the intersection of food regulation, legal taxonomy, and information systems. While prepared for IFID's internal decision-making regarding classification hierarchies, the compilation represents substantial interdisciplinary work that may benefit the wider research community.

This report synthesizes landmark judicial decisions in Indian food classificationlaw, documenting the transition from common parlance-based interpretation to ahierarchical technical classification framework. The January 6, 2026 Supreme Courtjudgment in Commissioner of Customs Import v. Ms Welkin Foods formally es-tablished a precedential hierarchy that prioritizes statutory interpretation over layunderstanding, marking a departure from pre-HSN era jurisprudence. This analy-sis examines four domains (GST/Tax, Food Safety, Customs, and Dietary Labels)where technical definitions now supersede common parlance, with significant im-plications for food informatics, regulatory compliance, and ingredient classificationsystems.