Is Currency Goods?
JUST a day before the CESTAT passed the above order, the Madhya Pradesh High Court passed an order on a question whether the currency notes printed by petitioner for supply to the Reserve Bank of India constitute "Goods" in absence of currency being a freely tradable commodity or a merchandise capable of being dealt with in the market?
The High Court held:
Petitioner is only engaged in printing and selling of bank notes to the Reserve Bank of India, therefore, there is a sale transaction between petitioner and the Reserve Bank of India and after sale the said goods become Bank Note or currency and before such transaction it is merely goods under the definition of VAT Act, 2002. ….. Goods are defined under section 2(m) and according to which all kinds of movable property excluding stocks, shares, securities or government stamps including all material articles which are agreed to be served before the sale or under the contract of sale.
Under the proposed GST Act, goods are defined as:
"goods'' means every kind of movable property other than money and securities but includes actionable claim, growing crops, grass and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before supply or under a contract of supply.