1983 (1) TMI 241 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
Assessment of whether publications "Joker" and "Jabara" are newspapers exempt from tax under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis:
The case involved the assessment of two publications, "Joker" and "Jabara," by the Sales Tax Officer, Enforcement Branch, to determine if they qualify as newspapers exempt from tax under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. The Sales Tax Officer found the publications to be goods liable to tax, leading to appeals by the assessee. The Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal, in Second Appeal No. 125 of 1974, ruled that the publications were newspapers and thus exempt from tax. This decision was based on the definition of "goods" under the Act, which excludes newspapers. The Tribunal's judgment was challenged, leading to a common question of law being referred to the High Court for determination.

The High Court analyzed the content of the publications, noting that they primarily contained numerological and astrological figures with minimal news content. The definition of a newspaper, as per legal sources like the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's Dictionary, emphasizes the presence of news as a key characteristic. The Court cited a legal definition from Butterworth's "Words and Phrases Legally Defined" to highlight that a publication must report recent events to be classified as a newspaper. It concluded that publications focused on astrological and numerological predictions cannot be considered newspapers, even if they contain some news items or advertisements.

The Court dismissed the argument that registration under the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867 automatically qualifies the publications as newspapers. It emphasized that registration under this Act does not alter the nature of the publication if it does not meet the criteria of a newspaper. Additionally, the frequency of publication, being daily in this case, was deemed irrelevant in determining whether the publications qualified as newspapers.

In its final decision, the High Court ruled against the assessee, affirming that the publications "Joker" and "Jabara" did not meet the criteria to be classified as newspapers under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. The Court ordered the respondents to pay the costs of the references to the applicant.