https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=275283 The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 did not occupy the field so as to exclude State municipal taxation of mobile towers, because it regulated telegraph establishment and licensing while the Gujarat enactments operated in the distinct field of local taxation under the doctrine of pith and substance. For Entry 49 of List II, "building" must bear its ordinary common-parlance meaning; a steel mobile tower without walls or roof did not qualify and was more akin to plant and machinery. The attached cabin or shelter, however, had the attributes of a building and remained taxable. Accordingly, the impugned provisions were ultra vires to the extent they authorised tax on towers. en-us Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 26 Sep 2018 10:03:22 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=275283 The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 did not occupy the field so as to exclude State municipal taxation of mobile towers, because it regulated telegraph establishment and licensing while the Gujarat enactments operated in the distinct field of local taxation under the doctrine of pith and substance. For Entry 49 of List II, "building" must bear its ordinary common-parlance meaning; a steel mobile tower without walls or roof did not qualify and was more akin to plant and machinery. The attached cabin or shelter, however, had the attributes of a building and remained taxable. Accordingly, the impugned provisions were ultra vires to the extent they authorised tax on towers. Case-Laws Indian Laws Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=275283