Lease of factory unit with attached machinery was not a transfer of goods, so trade tax was held inapplicable.

A lease of a factory premises with plant and machinery attached to the earth, without any right to sever or uproot the machinery, was treated as a lease of immovable property rather than a transfer of the right to use goods. The arrangement did not involve transfer of movable property within the statutory definition of goods, so section 3-F of the Trade Tax Act was held inapplicable. The tax levy on the lease was therefore not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether lease of a factory premises together with plant and machinery, without any right to sever the machinery from the earth, amounted to transfer of the right to use goods so as to attract tax under section 3-F of the Trade Tax Act.

Analysis: The plant and machinery were found to be attached to the earth and were leased as part of a complete factory unit. The arrangement did not confer any right on the lessee to uproot or sever the machinery, and there was no transfer of movable property as contemplated by section 2(d). On those findings, the subject matter of the lease was treated as immovable property rather than goods.

Conclusion: The lease did not amount to transfer of goods or transfer of the right to use goods, and the tax levy was not sustainable.

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