NEW PRASANTHI AUTOMOBILES CO Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Tax Revision Cases at the instance of the assessee pertain to the assessments made on him under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (the Act) for the assessment years 1986-87 and 1987-88. The assessee is a dealer with registration for carrying on sales in automobile spare parts, mill stores, hardwares, marine engine spares, rubber goods and tractor parts. We are concerned in these cases with the rate of tax applicable to sales of nuts and bolts, and (automobile) jacks (described by all the statutory authorities as "jackies"). While the assessee contended that these are items assessable at 6% as iron and steel articles not mentioned elsewhere in the First and Second Schedules to the Act and therefore falling under Entries 45 or 99 of the First Schedule as they stood before and after July 1,1987, the revenue assessed them at 15% or 10% as spare parts or accessories of motor vehicles or tractors under the relevant entries during the two periods, 15% being charged on part of the turnover apportioned to automobiles and 10% on the rest of the turnover apportioned to tractors. In other words, the assessing authority assessed the very same goods at different rates by apportioning the turnover as pertaining either to automobiles or to tractors. The assessing authority, the first appellate authority and the Tribunal refused to treat the nuts and bolts as iron and steel articles as contended by the assessee. The jack was treated as an accessory to motor vehicles and hence assessed as such at 15%.

(2.) The question that falls for consideration is whether the nuts and bolts sold by the assessee are iron and steel articles or spare parts of automobiles/tractors, and whether the jack is an accessory of automobiles or an iron and steel article.

(3.) It is not in dispute that the nuts and bolts in question are not of any special kind or nature, fitted only for use in automobiles. On the other hand, they are just ordinary nuts and bolts, like any others which could be used for any purpose whatsoever wherever nuts and bolts are required. The Tribunal itself found that the manufactures of these goods, namely Sundaram Fasteners Ltd. manufactured different types of fasteners which find application in various industries. What we seek to emphasise is that the nuts and bolts in question are not manufactured specially for use as automobile spare parts, but are of general nature liable to be used in any industry.