J. Vijayakumar Vs Assistant Commissioner (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that no taxable event under the provisions of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act [KVAT Act] had occurred in respect of displaying advertisement on hoardings as there was no transfer of right to use the hoardings. Accordingly, writ disposed of.
Facts- The petitioner is engaged in erecting hoardings on properties and buildings owned by the third parties, on the basis of agreements and such hoardings are fixed either on a property or top of a building. After erecting the hoardings on the structure created for the said purpose, the advertisement of his consumers would be displayed on the said hoardings for a particular period, on the terms and conditions agreed between the parties. The aforesaid transactions were subjected to assessment, u/s. 25 of the KVAT Act, by the 1st respondent, and the assessment orders passed were taken in appeal in all these cases before the first appellate authority.
The main contention raised by the petitioner is that, in view of the peculiar nature of the transactions involved in the display of hoardings, it cannot be held that a taxable event under the provisions of the KVAT has occurred. According to the petitioner, there was no transfer of right to use the hoardings, while displaying such advertisements, in favour of the third parties, as the petitioner is only displaying the content provided by his customers, whereas, the entire control and possession over the hoardings vested with the petitioner.
