While confirming the order of Clarification dated 05.11.2012 passed by the Department of Commercial Taxes, the single bench of the Kerala High Court held that T5 fluorescent lamps are exigible at 13.5% of VAT.
The appellants, in the present case, challenged the Clarification issued by the Department of Commercial Taxes, Kerala which imposes 13.5% of VAT on T5 fluorescent lamps by rejecting the contention of the appellant that the said goods ought to be treated on a par with Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL), the Department has held that they cannot be brought under entry 28A of the III Schedule to the Act, under which CFL has been categorized.
Before the Court, the appellants contended that the T5 fluorescent lamp has not been assigned any specific HSN number are ought to be classified along with CFL, especially because they both are technically and functionally the same. Therefore, the goods are liable to be taxed at 5%.
The division bench comprising of Justice Antony Dominic and Justice Dama Seshadiri Naidu by confirming the Clarification order, the Court held that “As seen, entry 28A of the III Schedule to the Act has specified only CFL without a HSN number. First, we are prepared to accept that T5 fluorescent lamp and CFL work with the same technology. But we find it difficult to accept that both the products are the same. It is not the case of even the very appellant either. After examining the samples of both the products—T5 fluorescent lamp and CFL—produced by the learned counsel on either side, we find that the products have their descriptions distinctly printed on the cartons. To elaborate, we may observe that the carton of T5 fluorescent lamp has nowhere mentioned that it is a CFL. As has been rightly contended by the learned Government Pleader, even in common parlance it is difficult to liken a T5 fluorescent lamp with a CFL, both of which are functionally different and distinct.
Read the full text of the Judgment below.
