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TMI Blog2015 (2) TMI 1059X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ament with which a house is equipped. In the Webster Dictionary II edition, it is defined to mean articles of convenience or decoration used to furnish the house. Insofar as the word 'furnished' is concerned, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines the word 'furniture' has to fit up with all that is requisite including moveable furniture which is now predominant notion. Shorter Oxford English dictionary gives the meaning of the word 'furniture' as movable articles in a dwelling house, place of business or a public building. Therefore, insofar as the dictionary meaning is concerned, it means all articles of convenience or decoration used for the purpose of furnishing a place of business or office or a house as articles of furniture. If any term or expression has been defined in the enactment then it must be understood in the sense in which it is defined but in the absence of any definition being given in the enactment the meaning of the term in common parlance or commercial parlance has to be adopted. Apparently, the deciding factor is the predominant or ordinary purpose or use. It is not enough to show that the article can be put to other uses also. It ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... net connections. Therefore, a work station is not used as a convenience or for decoration in a dwelling place or used to furnish a place of business. Therefore, it is not possible to accept the view of the revenue that a cubicle or a work station would fall within the meaning of the word 'Furniture' and therefore, the assessee is not entitled to the benefit of input tax paid for acquiring such work stations. - Decided against Revenue. - STRP Nos. 7/2011 & 64-69/2011 & 113-121/11, STRP 103/11 & 217-236/2011 - - - Dated:- 18-6-2014 - N. Kumar And B. Manohar,JJ. For the Appellant : Smt S Sujatha, AGA For the Respondents : T Suryanarayana, Adv M/s King Partridge ORDER Per: N Kumar: These petitions are preferred by the State/revenue challenging the order passed by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal holding that the goods purchased by the assessee under the nomenclature of 'Work Station' are not items of furniture, they are accessories to the various computer peripherals and the computer itself which are housed at work stations and therefore, the assessee is entitled to 'input tax credit'. 2. The assessee is engaged in the business of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assailing the impugned order contends that work stations are nothing but furniture as set-out in Entry No.5 of the V Schedule. Section 11(a)(2) of the KVAT Act puts restriction on claiming input tax. Input Tax shall not be deducted in calculating the net tax payable in respect of tax paid on goods as specified in V Schedule. Therefore, the assessee was not entitled to input tax deduction as wrongly claimed by them. The tribunal was in total error in holding that the work stations are not furniture but it is an accessory of electronic goods viz., of computer/computer peripheral falling under Entry No.3 of V Schedule and therefore, she submits the impugned order requires to be set-aside. 6. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the assessee submitted that the work stations cannot be construed as furniture at all and therefore, Section 11(a)(2) is not attracted. The corresponding section prior to 2006 was 11(a)(3). Even otherwise, he submits that if the goods is used in the manufacture of goods for sale, the restriction imposed under Section 11 is not attracted. Therefore, seen from any angle the tribunal was justified in holding that the assessee is entitled to the input tax d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... bed as hospital equipment. The test, in our opinion, is not whether the articles are capable of being used as furniture; the test is whether they are ordinarily so used and can be accepted as such according to the general or popular notion of what furniture is. Sales tax is a liability which affects the mercantile community and the consumer public. The list of items mentioned in the notification must be construed according to the understanding popular in that community and section of the people. To impose a technical or artificial meaning will result in defeating or stultifying the intention behind the provision . 11. The Apex Court in the case of Indo International Industries Vs Commissioner Of Sales Tax reported in (1981) 47 STC 359 held as under: It is well-settled that in interpreting items in statutes like the Excise Tax Acts or Sales Tax Acts, whose primary object is to raise revenue and for which purpose they classify diverse products, articles and substances, resort should be had not to the scientific and technical meaning of the terms or expressions used but to their popular meaning, that is to say, the meaning attached to them by those dealing in them. If any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Dictionary as follows: an object or device that is not essential in itself but that adds to the beauty, convenience, or effectiveness of something else . Other meanings given there are: supplementary or secondary to something of greater or primary importance ; additional ; any of several mechanical devices that assist in operating or controlling the tone resources of an organ . Accessories are not necessarily confined to particular machines for which they may serve as aids. The same item may be an accessory of more than one kind of instrument . 14. The word 'furniture' has not been defined under the Act. In Chambers 20th Century Dictionary 'furniture' is defined as movables either for use or ornament with which a house is equipped. In the Webster Dictionary II edition, it is defined to mean articles of convenience or decoration used to furnish the house. Insofar as the word 'furnished' is concerned, the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines the word 'furniture' has to fit up with all that is requisite including moveable furniture which is now predominant notion. Shorter Oxford English dictionary gives the meaning of the word 'furnitu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Act deals with input tax restrictions which reads as under: 11. Input tax restrictions (a) Input tax shall not be deducted in calculating the net tax payable, in respect of: (1) tax paid on purchases attributable to sale of exempted goods exempted under Section 5, except when such goods are sold in the course of export out of the territory of India; (2) tax paid on goods as specified in the Fifty Schedule subject to such conditions as may be specified, purchased and put to use for purposes other than for - (i) resale, or (ii) manufacture or any other process of other goods for sale 16. From the aforesaid provisions, it is clear that input tax paid by an assessee in purchasing the goods on set out in V Schedule are not eligible for input tax deduction. That rule has an exception. That is, if the goods mentioned in V Schedule are resold then Section 11 is not attracted. Similarly when the goods mentioned in the V Schedule are used for manufacture or any other process of other goods for sale, even then Section 11 is not attracted. But the question in this case is, whether the goods in respect of which input tax rebate benefit is claimed is a goods which fa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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