TMI Blog1999 (10) TMI 704X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on 7(1)(xxviii) of the said Act. In this application for review, it was further urged that all items manufactured by the company are supplied to Automobile Corporation of Goa Ltd., at Ponda, Sattari, given as raw material and the said Corporation does further processing after which the same are sent to Telco, Pune and Jamshedpur. Thus, according to the petitioner, the items are meant only for Telco, Pune and Telco, Jamshedpur. It was further contended by the petitioner in the said review application that the brake shoe is an integral part of the front wheels and rear wheels of the vehicle, without which the vehicle cannot be manufactured and cannot be put on the road for use; that there is no possibility of second sale of the product; that the brake shoe cannot be used in any other vehicles except those manufactured by Telco and the brake shoe does not require replacement in the ordinary course on account of wear and tear, nor is it an extra item for use in any emergency. 2.. After hearing the advocate for the petitioner, the Commissioner of Sales Tax vide order dated September 2, 1993, came to the conclusion that brake shoe and twenty other items manufactured by the petitioner-c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d by Telco; that the brake shoe does not require replacement in the ordinary course on account of wear and tear, nor it is an extra item for use in emergency and that there is no possibility of second sale of the product in question. According to the learned Senior Counsel, the main test to be applied in order to find out as to whether a product is "spare part", is whether the product in question is subject to normal wear and tear in the ordinary course, requires frequent replacement and, as such, is required to be normally kept by an owner of the vehicle in readiness for replacement in emergency. After placing reliance on Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Amar Radio Cabinet Works [1968] 22 STC 63 (Bom), Bajaj Tempo Ltd. v. Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (1997) 99 (3) Bom LR 491 (Bom), Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State, Bombay v. Acme Mfg. Co. Ltd. [1990] 78 STC 79 (Bom), Jaiswal Sons v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes [1992] 86 STC 416 (AP) and Parekh Electric Wire Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Gujarat [1992] 85 STC 464 (Guj), learned counsel has urged that the impugned order in relation to brake shoes is, therefore, required to be quashed. 5.. On the other ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... her goods, at the rate of eight paise in the rupee; .........................." The petitioner had filed an application under section 27A for classification of the brake shoe for the purpose of payment of tax in accordance with section 7 of the said Act. The Commissioner of Sales Tax classified brake shoe under entry 1 of the Twelfth Schedule of the said Act, which has been challenged in this petition. 8.. The question for determination, therefore, is whether brake shoe is "spare part" of motor vehicle. The relevant entry 1 of the Twelfth Schedule which was deleted with effect from 30th March, 1995, reads: "Spare parts of motor vehicles including batteries." 9.. The plain dictionary meaning of the word "spare" as per Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is: "Not in actual or regular use at the time spoken of, but carried, held, or kept in reserve for future use, or to supply an emergency; additional, extra, that can be spared, dispensed with, or given away, as being in excess of the actual requirements, superfluous." The expression "spare part", has been defined in Webster's International Dictionary as: "An extra part of a vehicle or machine kept for use in emergency or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ogether with another or others makes up a whole" and the definition of the word "spare" given in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary at page 1957, it was ruled that "spare part" would, therefore, mean any integral part of an article which is carried, held, or kept in reserve for future use or to supply an emergency or which is additional or extra. Therefore, it was implicit in this meaning that the part in question must be a part which is severable and capable of being substituted or replaced by another, for otherwise there would be no point in having an additional or extra part or carrying, holding, or keeping such part in reserve for future use or to supply an emergency. According to their Lordships, the watch case clearly satisfies this requirement since it is indubitably a severable part which can be substituted or replaced by another. The crux of this ruling is that the spare part in question must be an integral part and essential part of the whole unit and that it should be severable part which could be substituted or replaced by another. 11.. In Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Amar Radio Cabinet Works [1968] 22 STC 63, a division Bench of the Bombay High Court was required to decid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sion "spare parts" occurring in item 1 of the First Schedule to the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, as extended to the Union Territory of Delhi, as it stood prior to the amendment of the same by notification dated August 31, 1966. The said entry read as follows: "Motor vehicles, including chassis of motor vehicles, motor tyres and tubes and spare parts of motor vehicles." After considering the definition of the words "spare part" as given in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Vol. II (1967 Edition), to the effect that "an extra part of a vehicle or machine kept for use in emergency or replacement", it was held that obviously the body of motor vehicle cannot fall within the expression "spare part". Further, relying on observations made by a division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Commissioner of Sales Tax v. Amar Radio Cabinet Works [1968] 22 STC 63 (Bom), it was held that a similar principle would have to be adopted in the case of motor bodies also. Accordingly, it was held that the body of motor vehicle is not a "spare part" in order to attract the higher rate of sales tax of 0.10 p. in a rupee under section 5(1)(a) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ery may consist of numerous parts, some may be essential and integral parts of it and others may be for smooth and efficient running of the machine. All the same both are parts of the machinery. Those parts that can be replaced or substituted are described as spare parts. But merely because they can be replaced they do not cease to be parts. A part which cannot be replaced becomes a part of the machinery itself and those that are capable of being substituted become spare parts. A spare part is nothing but a part of the machinery." It is pertinent to note that those parts of the machinery which can be replaced or substituted are described as "spare parts". 16.. In Commissioner of Sales Tax, Maharashtra State, Bombay v. Acme Mfg. Co. Ltd. [1990] 78 STC 79 (Bom) a distinction was drawn between components and spare parts and it was laid down that in common parlance components are items or parts which are used in the manufacture of the final product and without which the final product could not be conceived of, whereas "spare parts" are those component parts which, in the course of use, are subject to frequent wear and tear and are, therefore, required to be kept in readiness for us ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rmine whether a part is a "spare part" is that its replacement should not affect the identity of the article; if on its replacement the identity of the article itself changes, it cannot be treated as "spare part" within the meaning of entry 3. It was held that the goods in question are integral parts of the battery without which no battery can function and their replacement changes the identity of the battery as a result of which they do not fall within the meaning of "spare parts". 19.. Coming to the matter under consideration, in the absence of any definition of expression "spare part", or guidelines in that behalf in the said Act, we must give to the words, "spare parts" occurring in entry 1 of the Twelfth Schedule, the meaning that can be attributed in common parlance and usage in interpreting an entry of such nature. There is no dispute that "brake shoe" is an integral part of axle which is fitted to a motor vehicle. The question to be decided is whether "brake shoe" would fall within the ambit of "spare part" occurring in the Twelfth Schedule of the Act. In common parlance the expression "spare part" connotes a part which requires replacement in the ordinary course on accou ..... 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