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TMI Blog2010 (8) TMI 746X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The question for determination in these civil appeals is whether the "voltage stabilizer" manufactured and sold by the assessee (respondent herein) ought to be taxed as electrical goods under entry No. 16 of the Schedule to the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 or as electronic goods under entry No. 74(f) of Notification No. 1223 dated March 31, 1992. The Revenue contends that the voltage stabilizer is an "electrical goods". The stand of the assessee is it is "electronic goods". The facts and the issues in all these civil appeals are identical and, therefore, these are all disposed of by this common judgment. The respondent/assessee is in the business of manufacture of voltage stabilizers and sales thereof. The assessing officer had passed the assessment order dated March 31, 1997 under section 41(8) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, directing S/S. Parikh Gramodyog Sansthan (respondent) to pay sales tax in a sum of Rs. 1,00,875.55 and Rs. 1,93,438 for the assessment years 1994-95 and 1995-96, respectively. This quantification was based on the rate applicable to electrical goods. The respondents had stated that they were liable to pay taxes at the rates applicable to electronic good ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... High Court dismissed the revision petition. That is how the Revenue is before us in these appeals. The learned counsel Sri Aarohi Bhalla would submit that, the commodity in question is electrical goods since it works on the principles of application of electric energy and also facilitates the distribution and transmission of electrical energy and therefore, it satisfies the twin tests that are required under entry 16 of the Schedule to the Act. It is further submitted, that for the goods to be classified as electronic goods, their functioning or operation must be controlled and guided by micro processing chips. According to learned counsel, the voltage stabilizers function as step up or step down transformers and their working is not controlled by micro processing and, therefore, they are outside the ambit of electronic goods. It is also submitted that the assessee only imported electrical goods as raw materials for being used in the manufacture of stabilizers and the use of the raw material clearly establishes the fact that no microchips have been used while manufacturing the voltage stabilizers. Per contra, Shri Dhruv Agarwal, learned counsel for the assessee, would submit th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n electronic components, magnetic media, microwave tube, television components, television glass shell, electronic transducers, actuators, display devices that is light emitting diodes/liquid crystal diodes, micro meters for video cassette recorders/video cassette players, crystals, tape deck mechanism, etched and framed foils, electronic tuners, deflection yokes, line out put transformers, electro deposited copper foils, printed circuit board laminate, populated printed circuit boards, power supply devices, cabinet. (f) All other electronic goods, parts and accessories not covered in any of the aforementioned categories." Entry 16 of the Schedule to the U.P. Trade Tax Act is an inclusive definition. It speaks of all electrical goods, instruments, apparatus, etc., the use of which cannot be had without the application of electrical energy, including plant and their accessories required for the generation, distribution and transmission of electrical energy. Entry 74 of Notification No. 1223 dated March 31, 1992 and subsequent Notification No. 3420 dated October 1, 1994 speaks of electronic goods. There is no material change in these two notifications, except change in the rate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e is larger than the breakdown voltage known as "zener knee voltage" or "zener voltage". The device was named after Clarence Zener, who discovered this electrical property. An avalanche diode is a diode (usually made from silicon, but can be made from another semiconductor) that is designed to go through avalanche breakdown at a specified reverse bias voltage and conduct as a type of voltage reference. (see Wikipedia) The voltage stabilizer is an instrument which can be used by application of electrical energy and not an instrument for generation, distribution or transmission of electrical energy, but are used for regulating the inflow of electrical energy for variety of appliances. Voltage stabilizers serve the purpose of producing a constant output voltage from a variable input voltage. As a rule, voltage stabilizers operate with an in-phase regulated transistor, which has a control input driven by a stabilized control voltage. It is possible, given a constant control voltage to largely stabilize the output. Voltage in a defined operating range, by way of the characteristic response of the transistor acting as the actuator. The stabilized output voltage serves, as a rule, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t to pass. It is evident from the facts of the case that an automatic voltage stabilizer involves the operation of a number of electronic components. A voltage stabilizer might have many components some of which use electricity. This cannot be the sole reason for classifying it as electrical goods. As noticed earlier, an electrical device can be an electronic device, but an electronic device cannot be an electrical device. The Tribunal which is the last fact-finding authority after taking into consideration the components of voltage stabilizer, the purpose for which it is used and the principles on which it works has come to the conclusion that the voltage stabilizer is electronic goods, for the purpose of taxation under the U.P. Trade Tax Act. We are in agreement with the reasoning and conclusion reached by the Tribunal. The learned counsel for the appellant has placed reliance on the observations made by the Madras High Court in the case of Williams Tacks and Co. Ltd., Madras v. State of Madras AIR 1955 Mad 656 (V.42, C.N.208 Nov.) and BPL Ltd. v. State of Andhra Pradesh [2001] 127 ELT 655 (SC). In the case of Williams Tacks and Co. Ltd., Madras v. State of Madras, AIR 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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