Court rules that the 2006 Notification substituting Entry No. 60 in Schedule-B does not prejudice Sony India's claim for concessional 4% VAT on IT products including Digital Still Image Cameras.
In a significant judgment delivered on September 2, 2026, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Division Bench) clarified the tax treatment of Digital Still Image Cameras (DSC) under the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005. The court held that the Notification dated June 27, 2006, issued by the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which substituted Entry No. 60 in Schedule-B of the Punjab VAT Act, does not adversely affect the petitioner Sony India Private Limited's entitlement to a concessional VAT rate of 4% on their DSC products.
Sony India Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation Japan, imports a range of goods including DSCs and distributes them through its northern India branches. The company contended that its products fall under the category of "IT Products" as defined in Entry No. 60 of Schedule-B of the Punjab VAT Act, which entitled them to a concessional tax rate. The petitioner challenged the jurisdiction of the UT Administrator to issue the 2006 Notification that amended Entry No. 60, arguing that the original entry should continue to apply for DSCs.
The court carefully analyzed the language of both the original and the substituted Entry No. 60. The original entry included "IT products including computer, telephone, cell phones, Digital Video Disk and Compact Disk Teleprinter and Wireless Equipment and parts thereof." The amended entry also retained the expression "Information Technology products" along with an expanded illustrative list of products. The court noted that the expression "IT Products" was common to both entries, and the illustrative items were not exhaustive but merely examples.
Given this, the court found that Sony India's claim that DSCs fall within the broad category of "IT Products" remains valid under both the original and substituted entries. Therefore, the petitioner was not prejudiced by the Notification. The court deemed the petitioner's challenge to the Notification as academic and without merit, and accordingly dismissed the writ petition.
The judgment also disposed of connected writ petitions challenging assessment orders, directing that appeals against such orders be filed within 30 days and that limitation objections would not be raised if appeals were timely instituted.
This ruling provides clarity on the scope of the concessional tax rate under the Punjab VAT Act, reaffirming that DSCs are covered as IT Products and that administrative amendments to the schedule entries do not alter this entitlement.
Bottom Line:
The inclusion of Digital Still Image Cameras (DSC) under the category of "IT Products" in both the unamended and amended Entry No. 60 of Schedule-B in the Punjab VAT Act implies that the Notification dated 27.06.2006 issued by the Administrator of UT Chandigarh does not prejudice the petitioner in claiming a concessional rate of tax.
Statutory provision(s): Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 - Section 8(3), Entry No. 60 of Schedule-B
