Ejusdem generis guides crane classification as machinery, not lifts or hoists, and penalty is unsustainable.

The hydraulic mobile crane was treated as machinery under entry 33 of Part C of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, not as lifts or hoists under entry 8 of Part F. The crane's structure and use showed that it was a mechanically operated mobile machine mounted on a vehicle chassis, with the vehicle forming an integral subsidiary part of the machinery. Applying ejusdem generis, the broader machinery entry covered it, while the lift-and-hoist entry was confined to devices for raising or lowering persons or goods in a different sense. On that classification, penalty was not sustainable and was deleted.

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Issues: Whether the hydraulic mobile crane sold by the assessee was taxable under entry 8 of Part F of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 as lifts and hoists, or under entry 33 of Part C of the First Schedule as similar machinery with a mechanically propelled vehicle forming an integral part; and whether penalty could be sustained.

Analysis: The hydraulic mobile crane was examined with reference to its structure, mode of operation, and functional use. Entry 8 covered lifts and hoists operated by electrically or hydraulic power, which are devices meant for raising or lowering persons or goods to a higher level. The crane, by contrast, was a mechanically operated mobile machine mounted on a vehicle chassis and used for loading and lifting operations of a different character. Entry 33 was found to be broad enough to include similar varieties of machinery in which a mechanically propelled vehicle forms an integral part subsidiary to the main function. Applying the principle of ejusdem generis, the crane fell within entry 33 and not entry 8. Since the classification adopted by the Tribunal was correct, the levy of penalty was also not justified.

Conclusion: The crane was correctly classified under entry 33 of Part C of the First Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, and the penalty was rightly deleted.

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