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TMI Blog1980 (12) TMI 161X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nderstand the scope of the question, it is only necessary to state that the assessee-dealers are engaged in the manufacture and sale of neon signs and other activities which are not material. The neon sign is operated by electricity and the question which has arisen is whether the neon signs are actually electrical goods or not. No doubt, neon signs are activated by electricity and normally speaking should be considered as electrical goods. But the signs manufactured by the two assessees before us are in the shape of letters. These signs are visible by daylight as well as by night. In the case of M/s. India Neon Signs, the Financial Commissioner, who decided the last revision under section 20(3) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ay be neon or it may be argon or some other gas. There is an electrical connection at the end of the tube. If it is the letter C, then one electrical connection is at one end of C and the other is at the other end of C. When the current is passed through this tube it lights up and shines brightly coloured red. When the electricity is put off then also the words are readable. Normally, above the shops, offices and commercial establishments one can commonly see these signs which are clear and distinct in the daytime showing the name of the office or the shop, as the case may be. At night-time when the electricity is switched on then also these signs shine in different colours according to the nature of the gas which has been put into them. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t grinding machines were electrical goods. So, some of the items were held to be electrical goods, but some were not. The court also concluded that the machine as a whole had to be examined to see whether it fell within the category of "electrical goods". In J.B. Advani-Oerlikon, Electrodes, Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Sales Tax, M.P.[1972] 30 S.T.C. 337., a question arose whether the electrodes used for welding purposes were "electrical goods". It was held, they were not. The test given was (a) the article should be one which could not be used without electrical energy, and (b) it must by its very nature be "electrical goods". It was held by the court that though electrodes were used for welding material, they were not in common parlance ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d., Hyderabad[1971] 28 S.T.C. 84., the question before the court was whether "electric detonators" manufactured by the Indian Detonators Ltd. were electrical goods. It was held that they were not. This judgment was based on the view that electricity was used in a detonator only to start it and after it had once been ignited, then it was dependent for its explosive power on the chemical mixture used inside it. It was, therefore, not "electrical goods". In Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Madurai Division v. Ravi Auto Stores[1968] 22 S.T.C. 172., welding electrodes were held by the Madras High Court not to be electrical goods. Many other decisions were cited before us to show the kind of test that is to be employed for determining ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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