LOTTERY TICKETS NOT GOODS; SO NOT LIABLE FOR SALES TAX: SC

The Supreme Court has dismissed two appeals by the Kerala Government demanding sales tax on lottery tickets. According to the latest judgment, the tickets are not goods for the purpose of sales tax, the court held that a lottery ticket had no value by itself. It is a mere piece of paper. Its value lies in the fact that it represents a chance or a right to a conditional benefit of winning a prize of a greater value than the consideration paid. Earlier rulings like that of the Constitution bench in Sunrise Associates vs. Govt. of Delhi were followed to reject the government's contention. The judgment emphasized that the claim of the purchaser of a lottery ticket is excluded from the definition of 'goods' under the Sales of Goods Act and the sales tax laws of the states.