STATE OF KERALA Vs. MALAYALA MANORAMA CO.LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State in this revision questions the order of the Kerala Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal wherein it was found that the transaction between the assessee and Doordarshan in respect of 13 episodes of television serial entitled "Mohapashikal" was not a sale and it was only a contract for work.

(2.) The turnover of the assessee, Malayala Manorama Co.Ltd., for the assessment year 1993-94, included a receipt of Rs.13,00,000/- as sale consideration for sale of Manorama Vision Software to Doordarshan. However, the assessee raised a question that the receipts for sale of software to Doordarshan is not assessable as sale, as the consideration received was for the works contract undertaken by them. The assessing authority overruled the objection and assessed the above receipt as sale consideration in the assessment order dated 24.11.1997. The Deputy Commissioner also affirmed the order of the assessing authority in its appellate order dated 5.12.1998. The assessee then filed a further appeal before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal contending that the assessee was only offering its service to produce a 13 episode serial and therefore, there was no sale by the assessee. The tribunal after evaluating the nature of the transaction, took the view that the assessee had only offered its service to produce the serial and the assessee had no right over the film or any part thereof by virtue of the agreement to attract transfer of property. Thus, the appeal filed by the assessee was allowed by the tribunal.

(3.) The question is whether the transaction referred in the contract to make a serial and transferring the right over the serial would attract the definition of the term "goods" occurring in the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the "KGST Act").