No Service Tax on Sale of Used Car : Kerala HC

The question concerns the “sale” of used cars. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, does not directly deal with the sale of a motor vehicle, a movable property; but the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, does. The Motor Vehicles Act, though, deals with the procedure post-sale. Here, a motor vehicle dealer is dealing in used cars. Is its transaction a sale in the conventional sense attracting the sales tax, or a service—as an intermediary, agent, or broker—to the true owner attracting service tax? The question is simple, but the answer is not. C.E. Appeal No.14 of 2014: 2. The respondent-Sai Service Sta...