Tata Consultancy Services vs State Of Andhra Pradesh

The Supreme Court addressed the classification of software under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, specifically examining Section 2(h) regarding the definition of goods. The Court held that branded software, as an intellectual property, does not constitute 'goods' for tax purposes, emphasizing that the essence of the transaction is the right to use the software rather than the physical medium it is stored on. The judgment distinguished between custom-made and standardized software, affirming that only the latter qualifies as goods subject to taxation.