JUDGMENT
T.D. Sugla, J.
1. This reference is at the instance of the Commissioner. The question of law raised is :
“Whether, on the facts and the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in coming to the conclusion that the items, namely, knobs, formers, bobbings, threaded sleeves, insulating caps, strips and p.v.c. feet were not the accessories of wireless reception instruments within the meaning of entry 65 of Schedule C of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 ?”
2. The assessment is for the period from 1st April, 1970 to 31st March, 1971. The assessee manufactures and sells radio sets. For manufacturing radio sets it has to purchase and use a number of parts including the parts referred to in the question. If these parts are “spare parts” and/or “accessories”, the assessee would be liable to sales tax on their sales at the rate of 12%. Otherwise the sales tax would be payable at the rate of 6%.
3. The Sales Tax Tribunal held that these parts were neither spare parts nor accessories. They did not, thus, fall under entry 65 in Schedule C to the Sales Tax Act and would naturally fall under the residuary entry, i.e., entry 22 in Schedule E to the Sales Tax Act.
4. Entry No. 65 in Schedule C and entry No. 22 in Schedule E read as under :
SCHEDULE “C”
————————————————————————
Sl. Description of goods Rate of Rate of Period of
No. sales tax purchase operation
in paise tax in
in the paise in
rupee the rupee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
65. Wireless reception Ten Ten 1-4-1963 to
instruments and 31-8-1967
apparatus and radio
gramophones, and
electrical valves,
batteries, transmitters,
accumulators, amplifiers
and loudspeakers required
for use therewith and spare
parts and accessories of
such wireless instruments,
apparatuses and radio
gramophones.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCHEDULE "E"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sl. Description of goods Rate of Rate of Rate of Period of
No. sales tax general purchase operation
in paise sales tax tax in
in the in paise paise in
rupee in the the rupee
rupee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. All goods other than Three Three Three 1-1-1960
those specified from to
time to time in 31-12-1965
Schedules A, B, C, and
D and in the preceding
entries.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It appears that there was no dispute before the Tribunal that the above items were parts used in radio sets which the assessee was manufacturing. It was the department’s case that these parts were such as would not usually wear out frequently and, therefore, would not fall in the category of integral parts of radio sets. They would be either “spare parts” or “accessories”. This contention was, as stated earlier, rejected by the Tribunal.
Shri Jetley, however, fairly admitted that the question of law referred by the Tribunal in this case is limited and the department had to confine its arguments to the question whether these parts are accessories. There is no dispute that if these parts are not “accessories”, they will automatically fall under the residuary entry, i.e., item No. 22 of Schedule E.
5. As to the meaning of the word “accessory”, Shri Jetley relied on the following observations of this Court in Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State v. L. D. Bhave and Sons [1981] 47 STC 318, to which one of us (Mrs. Sujata Manohar, J.) is a party :
“an accessory is considered as something that is an extra or an additional item, and adjunct to the main item. It may add to the performance of the main item but it can also be for more convenient use of the main item. In fact, there can be various types of accessories and whether an item constitutes an accessory or not will depend upon how the item is considered in common parlance more than in terms of its dictionary meaning. For example, the leather case in which a transistor radio is kept is an accessory though it does not add to the performance of the transistor radio. At the highest, it protects the transistor radio and makes for its easy carriage.”
It was argued that all the seven parts referred to in the question were extra or additional items adjunct to the main item, i.e., radio set, and were, therefore, “accessories”.
6. The learned counsel for the assessee, on the other hand, placed reliance on this Court’s judgment in Acme Plastic Industries v. State of Maharashtra [1981] 48 STC 29, to which again one of us (Mrs. Sujata Manohar, J.) is a party. He also relied on the ratio of Gujarat High Court decision in Vithal Chhagan & Sons v. State of Gujarat [1966] 17 STC 96, and Madras High Court decision in Rose Mary Carpentry Works v. State of Madras [1964] 15 STC 924, in support of the view taken by the Tribunal.
7. In our judgment, the best way to find out whether certain parts/items are or are not “accessories” is to ask the question whether one can conceive of a radio set being sold in the market without those parts/items used or fixed to it. To put it differently, whether a radio set without the particular parts is or can be sold as a radio set. Considered in this background, it appears to us that five out of the seven parts/items referred to in question, i.e., other than knobs and p.v.c. feet, are used in the radio mechanism/circulatory/receiver itself. Without those parts it may be difficult even for a radio mechanic to use the mechanism as a radio. As regards knobs, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to control the volume or, to connect different stations, while p.v.c. feet is too small an item but without fixing it to the radio set, it may be difficult to place the set on its stand properly. The test, thus, may be taken to be that “accessory” is an item/part without which also a radio mechanism can function and is known and sold as radio set in the consumers’ market. In other words, parts or items will fall in the category of accessory only if these are not integral and essential parts of radio set but are additional or adjunct. These are, of course, used in the radio set with the object of improving the decorative and cosmetic look of the radio set. Since we are in agreement with the Tribunal that all the seven items are essential and integral parts of the radio set, we answer the question in the affirmative and in favour of the assessee.
No order as to costs.
8. Reference answered in the affirmative.