1975 (1) TMI 76

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.... 61(1) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, is whether a sculptor who makes statues and busts for persons who commission them is a dealer within the meaning of the said Act. One V.V. Wagh acquired reputation as a sculptor and in recognition of the repute which he was enjoying he was appointed a sculptor to some Viceroys and Governors of Bombay. He died in 1958. Before his death, however, he trained....

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.... parties the respondent prepared busts and statues in marble and bronze, the work involving artistic skill and ability. He has further stated that the sculpturing of a bust normally took from four to six months and statues one or two years for completion and that these statues and busts were not reproduced for sale to the public. The Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax held that the respondent was a ....

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.... was decided by us today, we have held that the preparation and supply of a design by a commercial artist is a contract of skill and labour and not a contract of sale. We see no difference in principle between the case of a commercial artist, a painter or a sculptor. In each case, for the preparation of the final work what is required is artistic skill; and when a man commissions an artist to pain....