In Brief
Western Coalfields Ltd. challenged the taxation and registration of its excavators under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The central question was whether these excavators qualify as 'motor vehicles' under Section 2(28) of the Act. A larger Bench resolved conflicting precedents by finding that the Goodyear case (which addressed Central Excise Tariff classification) was inapplicable, and that the earlier decisions in Natwar Parikh and Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation correctly held that such excavators constitute motor vehicles. The Court upheld the High Court's decision, holding excavators liable for registration and taxation under the Motor Vehicles Act.
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