Sale of printed information materials held taxable where consideration was for transfer of goods, not a bare service.

Transfer of printed materials carrying valuable information for consideration was treated as a sale of goods under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, because the statutory definitions covered transfer of property in movable goods for valuable consideration. The consideration was linked to the supply of the printed material embodying the information, not to a bare service, and the business utility of the information supported characterisation as goods. After permissible deductions, the resulting balance was taxable turnover. The revisions were dismissed, and the transaction remained liable to tax under the Act.

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Issues: Whether the transfer of printed materials containing valuable information for consideration constituted a sale of goods exigible to tax under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, and whether the resulting turnover was taxable turnover.

Analysis: The relevant statutory definitions treated sale as a transfer of property in goods for cash or other valuable consideration, goods as movable property, and taxable turnover as the turnover liable to tax after permissible deductions. The transaction involved the assessee obtaining valuable information and supplying it to customers in printed form for service charges. The consideration paid was linked to the transfer of the printed materials carrying valuable information, not merely to a bare service. The nature of the information, its business utility, and the transfer of the material embodiment to customers brought the transaction within the statutory concept of goods and sale. After deductions under the rules, the balance turnover was liable to tax.

Conclusion: The transaction was held to be a sale of goods and the turnover was held to be taxable under the Act. The revisions were dismissed.

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