VENKATARAMANA HATCHERIES Vs. C T O

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether chicks are goods covered by Entry 54 in List II o f the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, and if so, whether they could be treated as livestock under sub-rule (2) of Rule 5 of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Rules, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules') for the purpose of imposition of sales tax, is the common question that arises for consideration in all these writ petitions. They are therefore disposal of by a common judgment.

(2.) The petitioners in all these writ petitions are hatcheries engaged inthe business of hatching and selling chicks. They are registered dealers under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 (for short 'the Act'), All of them were assessed to Sales tax on the turnover relating to the sales of one day old chicks treating them as general goods. Aggrieved by those orders these writ petitions were filed. "Taxes on the sale or purchase of goods other than newspapers, subject to the proviso of Entry 92-A of List 1" is the entry No. 54 in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The word "goods" is defined in clause 12 of Article 366. "Goods" includes all material, commodities, and articles".

(3.) The thrust of the argument advanced on behalf of the petitionerswas that the State Legislature was not competent to make law levying tax another sale or purchase of animate objects, namely, live-stock. The basis of this argument was that the material, commodities, and articles which constitute goods as defined in clause (12) of Article 366 of the Constitution of India include only the inanimate objects but both the live-stock.