SANJOS PARISH HOSPITAL Vs. COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions are filed by the private hospitals in the State and the Kerala Private Hospitals' Association (Modern Medicine) State Committee. They have approached this court disputing their liability to get themselves registered as dealers under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act", for short) and to pay tax under the said Act for the medicines and consumables sold to their patients. The issue being common, the cases were heard together treating W.P. (C) No. 7129 of 2008 as the leading case.

(2.) In these writ petitions, there are two main prayers. The first prayer is to declare that hospitals are not liable to take registration and pay tax under the Act for the supply of medicines and other items meant for treatment. The second prayer, which was urged as an alternative one, is to declare that section 6 of the Act and the corresponding rules are ultra vires and unconstitutional to the extent it seek to impose tax on hospitals and compel them to take registration under the Act. As a consequence, the petitioners are also seeking to quash the notices, and other proceedings issued by the officers of the Commercial Taxes Department.

(3.) In so far as the liability to take registration under the Act and to pay tax thereunder is concerned, the contention of the counsel for the petitioners was that hospitals are rendering what is called "hospital service" and that supply of medicines and other items is incidental to the service rendered to the patients treated. According to them, the Act does not contemplate levy of tax on such supply of medicines and other items and hence the hospitals have no obligation to get themselves registered under the Act or to pay tax thereunder.