Short answer. Yes, if it fits the rule's description. Rule 130, Section 47 admits a published list, register, periodical, or compilation as evidence of the matters it states, without calling the compiler, as long as it is published for people in that occupation and is generally used and relied upon by them.
What the law says
Evidence of statements of matters of interest to persons engaged in an occupation contained in a list, register, periodical, or other published compilation is admissible as tending to prove the truth of any relevant matter so stated if that compilation is published for use by persons engaged in that occupation and is generally used and relied upon by them therein.
Rule 130, Section 47 — Commercial lists and the like. Read the full provision →
Why this counts as an exception to hearsay
A published price list or trade directory is, strictly speaking, an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of what it says, which is the classic definition of hearsay. Requiring every business dispute to fly in the compiler of a commodity price sheet or industry directory to authenticate figures nobody in the trade seriously questions would be enormously wasteful, so Section 47 treats this category of published compilation as reliable enough to stand on its own, provided it meets the rule's specific description rather than being just any document that happens to list numbers.
The two conditions that actually matter
The compilation has to be "published for use by persons engaged in that occupation" — meaning it was created for a professional audience within a particular trade or industry, not compiled privately or for litigation purposes. And it has to be "generally used and relied upon" by people in that occupation, which is the real reliability check: an industry-standard directory that brokers, traders, or professionals actually consult and act on in the ordinary course of their work carries the kind of trustworthiness this rule is designed to recognize, while an obscure or unused publication would not satisfy the requirement even if labeled a "list" or "register."
Using it in practice
A party wanting to rely on this kind of evidence should be ready to establish both elements — that the publication was made for the relevant trade, and that it is the kind of source that practitioners in that field actually use and trust, sometimes through a witness familiar with industry practice rather than the compiler itself. Courts still weigh the compilation for whatever it is actually worth once admitted; the rule removes the hearsay obstacle to getting the evidence in, it does not guarantee the figures will be accepted as conclusive proof of the value or fact a party is trying to establish.
Related provisions
- Rule 130, Section 47 — Commercial lists and the like
- Rule 130, Section 46 — Entries in official records
- Rule 130, Section 48 — Learned treatises