STATE OF HARYANA Vs. RAJINDRA ELECTRIC STORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MEMBER Sales Tax Tribunal, Haryana, (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal) has referred the following question of law at the instance of the department for the opinion of this Court Under Section 42 (1) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act):" Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case and having regard to the provisions of Entry No. 18 of Schedule 'a' to Haryana General Sales Tax Act 1973 the dealer was liable to pay sales tax on fluorescent tubes starters, chokes and Phattis @ 10% even when these are sold as individual items instead of sale of complete appliance? "

(2.) RESPONDENT (hereinafter referred to as the assessee) is a dealer in electrical goods including chokes, phatties, starters and fluorescent tubes. During the assessment year 1974-75 assessee had shown the sale of flourescent tubes in the books of accounts leviable to tax at the rate of 10% and the sale of chokes phattis and starters was shown in the books of accounts leviable to tax at the rate of 6% taking them as general goods. Under entry 18 of Schedule 'a' to the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, 10% tax is leviable on the sale of electrical appliances. Entry 18 in Schedule 'a' as it existed in the year 1975 is reproduced below : " Electric appliances, excluding electric bulb, electric motors, motor starters and mono block pumping sets. "

(3.) ASSESSEE challenged the said order before the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Appeals) Ambala who relying upon the decision of Guiarat High Court in Star Radio Electric Co. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax, Gujarat, 1971 (27) S. T. C. 367 accepted the appeal holding that electrical appliances are devices which serve a particular purpose; that the purpose of fluorescent tubes is to dispel darkness and fluorescent by itself can serve the purpose dispelling the darkness but it cannot be said that a starter, choke or Phatti can dispel darkness. It was held that they were in a way accessories or component parts of the electrical appliances known as fluorescent tubes and that the accessing authority was not justified in taking the sale of chokes, phatties and starters at the rate of 10% as these were not electrical appliances.