In Brief
The Calcutta Club Limited, an incorporated entity, was assessed for sales tax on supplies of food and beverages to permanent members under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. The tribunal and High Court held the club was not liable, relying on the doctrine of mutuality and the principle that a club acts as agent of its members. However, the Supreme Court declined to decide the case on merits. Instead, it referred the matter to a larger Bench to authoritatively address: (1) whether the doctrine of mutuality survives the 46th constitutional amendment to Article 366(29A); (2) whether earlier precedent (Young Men's Indian Association) still applies; and (3) whether the amendment's deeming fiction deems club supplies to permanent members as taxable sales notwithstanding mutuality or agency.
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