The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bubble gum taxable at 10 p.c.

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Tuesday, Jun 03, 2008
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Bubble gum taxable at 10 p.c.

It is neither mithai nor confectionery: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that chewing gums and bubble gums are neither a sweetmeat (mithai) nor a confectionery item but a mouth freshener taxable at the rate of 10 per cent.

A Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and Dalveer Bhandari said: “Bubble gum is not an item for eating. The bubble gum, while kept in the mouth by children, is also inflated as a balloon. It is used as a mouth freshener.”

“Bubble gum in the common parlance cannot be construed as mithai. When we apply common parlance test and in fact ask someone to bring the sweets from the market, he will never bring bubble gum,” the court said while quashing the Allahabad High Court order which classified it as a confectionery item.

Mr. Justice Bhandari, writing the verdict for the Bench, quoted its earlier judgment in the case of Pappu Sweets and Biscuits & Another vs. Commissioner of Trade Tax, Uttar Pradesh, said ‘toffee’ in the country of its origin might be considered as sweetmeat but it cannot be considered as mithai in our country.

The Bench upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s notification of 1994 and said the bubble gum would be taxed as an unclassified item at a rate of 10 per cent.

Associated Distributors Ltd., the supplier of bubble gums, had challenged the government’s notification.

The company had submitted that bubble gum should be treated as a sweetmeat as it contained 60 per cent sucrose, a product of sugar.

The Commissioner of Trade Tax, Uttar Pradesh, had challenged the High Court order which held that bubble gum, being a confectionery item, should be taxed at a rate of 6.25 per cent. — PTI

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