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TMI Blog2008 (4) TMI 679X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... A.K. C.J. AND MAHAPATRA B.N. , JJ. A.K. GANGULY C.J. Initially three S.J. Cs. being S.J.C. Nos. 10 of 1997, 8 of 1997 and 9 of 1997 were filed and subsequently renumbered as S.T. Rev. Nos. 212, 214 and 216 of 2007, respectively. In view of the common questions of facts and law, all the three revision applications are heard and disposed of together. The following questions of law arising out of the order passed by the Orissa Sales Tax Tribunal on December 8, 1993 in Second Appeal Nos. 3345 to 3350 of 1991-92 have been referred to this honourable High Court in terms of the order of this honourable court dated February 24, 1997. The questions are: (i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal is righ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cer and produced the books of account and documents including receipts, purchase memos, vouchers, ledger and thereby denied its liability under the OST Act. The petitioner also submitted objection petitions on various dates, i.e., December 28, 1985, January 10, 1986, February 20, 1986 and February 29, 1988 contending, inter alia, that the petitioner has no sales tax liability under the OST Act and the notices, which were issued, are without jurisdiction. Ignoring the said objections of the petitioner, the Sales Tax Officer, Bhubaneswar-II Circle, Bhubaneswar, assessed the petitioner as an unregistered dealer, inter alia, holding that the petitioner is liable to pay sales tax as the petitioner has been alleged to carry activities of work ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or a decision of the High Court. The learned counsel for the petitioner before the High Court submitted that in the transaction in question, there is no contract of sale between the petitioner and the client. It is only a contract of service and the photographs, which the petitioner produced by supplying the same have no commercial value and are not marketable. So, there is no question of a works contract. It is the consistent stand of the petitioner that the present photographs which are produced by the petitioner have no utility or value to any other person than the customer. By developing such photographs, the petitioner only renders service to his customers. The customer pays for the service rendered by the petitioner. It is the cont ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was also placed on a judgment of this High Court in the case of Photo Emporium v. Additional District Magistrate reported in [1990] 77 STC 199 in which this High Court followed the ratio of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of B.C. Kame [1977] 39 STC 237. In that case, the stand of the Revenue was disapproved by the Orissa High Court. Similar view was taken in the case of Spectrum Foto Color Labs Pvt. Ltd. v. Commercial Taxes Officer [1998] 110 STC 145 (RTT) where the Tribunal held that the transfer of paper in the photograph is purely incidental and payment is only made to get positive prints and not to get the photo papers. Therefore, the contract in-between the petitioner and his client is not a contract of sale, and neit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d as such no tax can be levied on it. Against the said judgment of the Karnataka High Court, the State of Karnataka filed an S.L.P. before the honourable Supreme Court bearing S.L.P. Nos. 6136 to 6163 of 2000 and the honourable Supreme Court dismissed the S.L.P. on April 20, 2000. In the case of Rainbow Colour Lab v. State of Madhya Pradesh [2000] 118 STC 9 (SC) learned judges of the honourable Supreme Court reiterated its judgment in B. C. Kame 's case [1977] 39 STC 237 and came to the following conclusion: It is also of common knowledge that the photo prints supplied by them to their customers are not marketable commodities and as goods they have no value. The honourable Supreme Court in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. v. Unio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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