Common parlance test excludes simple labelling equipment from machinery entry, leaving it taxable under the residuary category.

Labelling equipment used only to print figures or letters on labels was not treated as "machinery" under entry 84(i) of the First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. Applying the common parlance test, the device was viewed as a simple functional tool similar to a stapler or rotating sealer, and not as machinery of the kind envisaged by the specific entry, such as engines or generating sets. It therefore falls outside entry 84(i) and is taxable under the residuary entry.

---

---

Issues: Whether the labelling equipment sold by the assessee is machinery falling under entry 84(i) of the First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, or is taxable under the residuary entry.

Analysis: The equipment was found to be a simple device used only for printing figures or letters on labels. Its functional character was compared with ordinary items such as a stapler or a rotating sealer, and it was held not to answer the description of the machinery contemplated by entry 84(i), which refers to items of a different nature such as engines and generating sets. Applying the common parlance understanding of the term, the device could not be treated as machinery under the specific entry.

Conclusion: The equipment does not fall under entry 84(i) of the First Schedule and is taxable only under the residuary entry.

---