YASHA OVERSEAS Vs. COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted in the three Special Leave Petitions in this batch of six cases.

(2.) Does the three-Judge Bench decision of this Court in Vikas Sales Corporation v. Commnr. of Commercial Taxes, 1997 (57)ECC1 , holding that the transfer/sale of an import licence called Replenishment Licence (REP licence) granted under the 1992-97 Exim Policy was exigible to sales tax stands impliedly overruled by the Constitution Bench decision in Sunrise Associates v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi, AIR 2006 SC 1908 that held that lottery tickets were actionable claims and were, therefore, excluded from the definition of goods under the Sales Tax Act and, hence, the sale of lottery tickets was not subject to sales tax and the earlier two-Judge Bench decision of the court in H. Anraj v. Govt. of Tamil Nadu, AIR 1986 SC 63 holding otherwise, did not lay down the correct legal position It is to consider this question that this batch of six cases was referred to the three-Judge Bench.

(3.) Apparently, lottery tickets are not the same thing as REP licences but on behalf of the appellants it was submitted that the decision in Vikas while upholding the taxability of REP licences, referred approvingly to Anraj which was expressly overruled by Sunrise. Further, the additional reasons given in Vikas for holding that REP licences were goods were also disapproved by the Constitution Bench and, therefore, it must be held that the decision in Vikas too stood impliedly overruled.