Scientific equipment exemption covers teaching machines supplied to technical colleges where notification conditions are satisfied.

Lathe, drilling and hopping machines supplied to technical and engineering colleges for teaching purposes were treated as falling within "scientific equipment and instruments" under the concessional CST notification. The certificate condition was satisfied, and the interpretive approach was strict but not so narrow as to exclude educational use where the articles served instructional functions in technical institutions. A contrary authority on steam boilers was distinguished because those were common utility articles and not comparable on these facts. The assessment revision was therefore unsustainable, and the assessment orders were set aside.

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Issues: Whether lathe, drilling machine and hopping machine sold to technical and engineering colleges, and used in teaching, fall within the expression "scientific equipment and instruments" under the exemption notification granting concessional CST rate.

Analysis: The notification under section 8(5) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 grants concessional tax treatment to inter-State sales of scientific equipment and instruments supplied to educational institutions, subject to the prescribed certificate and use conditions. The certificate condition stood satisfied. The remaining question was whether the goods themselves answered the description of scientific equipment and instruments. In construing the notification, the governing approach is strict, but the expression is not to be given a narrow or artificial meaning. Where the recipient institutions are technical or engineering colleges and the machines are deployed in teaching and instruction, the educational use becomes material to the character of the goods for the purpose of the notification. The contrary authority concerned steam boilers used as common utility articles and did not assist the revenue on these facts.

Conclusion: The machines were held to be covered by the notification as scientific equipment and instruments when used for educational purposes, and the assessment revision could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The assessment orders were set aside and the writ petitions were allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: For concessional taxation under a notification directed to scientific equipment and instruments, goods used by educational institutions in teaching may qualify where the notification's conditions are satisfied and the articles are not shown to have an ordinary non-educational character inconsistent with the notification.

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