Banks exempt from sales tax on pledged gold sales under Kerala GST Act; not liable as dealers.

The court held that banks are not liable to pay sales tax on the sale of pledged gold ornaments under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act. The sale of pledged goods by banks is considered a means to recover loans and not a business activity, exempting them from being classified as "dealers" under the Act. The court allowed the writ appeals, restraining tax levies on banks for disposing of pledged gold ornaments, emphasizing that such sales do not constitute business activities or trading in goods.

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Issues: (i) Whether a bank selling pledged gold ornaments for recovery of the loan amount carries on a business of buying or selling goods so as to be treated as a dealer under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. (ii) Whether such sale is protected by the scheme of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the law of pledge.

Issue (i): Whether a bank selling pledged gold ornaments for recovery of the loan amount carries on a business of buying or selling goods so as to be treated as a dealer under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

Analysis: The business of a banking company is accepting deposits and lending money, not trading in goods. Sale of pledged ornaments takes place only to realise the debt secured by the pledge. The bank does not become owner of the goods and does not sell them as trader or agent; it merely exercises a special power arising from the pledge. The transaction is not a trading activity or an ancillary commercial venture of the bank, and the definitions of business and dealer do not extend to such realisation of security.

Conclusion: The sale of pledged gold ornaments by the bank does not amount to business in goods and does not render the bank liable as a dealer under the Act.

Issue (ii): Whether such sale is protected by the scheme of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the law of pledge.

Analysis: Section 8 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 prohibits dealing in goods except in connection with realisation of security. Section 176 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 gives the pawnee the right to sell pledged goods after notice, with surplus payable to the pawnor and balance recoverable from the pawnor if sale proceeds are short. These provisions show that sale of pledged goods is only a mode of enforcing security and not trading in goods. The pawnor retains the right to redeem until sale, and the bank acts only to recover the debt secured by the pledge.

Conclusion: The impugned sales fall within the exception for realisation of security and are not taxable trading transactions.

Final Conclusion: The writ appeals succeeded and the banks were held not liable to sales tax on the disposal of pledged gold ornaments used for recovery of loans.

Ratio Decidendi: Sale of pledged goods by a bank solely for realisation of security is not a trading activity or incidental commercial business and therefore does not attract dealer liability under the sales tax law.

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