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M/S. Shanti Fragrances v. Union of India

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 971Decided 21 Sept 2017
Civil Appeal No. 8485 of 2011
Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. A group of appeals raised the question whether pan masala and gutka containing tobacco are taxable under certain State sales tax laws, including the Delhi Sales Tax Act, 1975. The answer depended on two conflicting lines of Supreme Court rulings on how exemption notifications interact with later rate-of-tax notifications.

Decision Breakdown

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. After analysing the Kothari Products line and the Agra Belting Works line of rulings, the Court declined to resolve the conflict itself. It requested the Chief Justice of India to constitute an appropriate Bench to decide which line is correct in law. The tax liability in the appeals was left undecided.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether these goods are taxable. The question is pending before a larger Bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice of India.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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