kochi the kerala high court has upheld state governments decision to impose luxury tax on hospitals that provide rooms costing rs 1000 or more for patients rooms in most private hospitals in kerala are priced above rs 1000the court was considering the plea made by various hospitals against the levy of luxury tax which had been imposed a division bench of the court dismissed the challenge raised to the levying of luxury tax after considering an appeal filed by rajah healthy acres pvt ltd which operates a hospital the tax was levied by introducing an amendment to kerala tax on luxuries act of 1976 through kerala finance act of 2008citing a supreme court decision of 2005 godfrey phillips india ltd vs state of up the high court said an activity of indulgence or enjoyment that is costly or which is generally recognized as beyond the necessary requirements of an average member of the society can be considered as luxury availing a private room satisfies the test of luxury laid down by the apex court as it is intended to provide comfort and pleasure beyond the requirements of the constitutive facilities of a hospital which includes food medicine professional services and a basic accommodation the judgment saiddismissing the contention of the appellant that rs 1000 is very meagre and would not qualify as a luxury it cannot meddle with the limit set by the legislature such a limit was set by the legislature based on the relevant social and economic parameters of the people of the state the court saidexplaining the reasoning behind the ruling the court said in the judgment the term luxury has been defined to exclude all the essential components of healing and care given by the hospital and includes only that which is not essential to such therapeutic care or healing the legislature obviously thought that such accommodation and amenities beyond the pecuniary limit of rs 1000 can be classified as luxury and it is not something that the courts can interfere with merely because the perception which it holds even it does that such pecuniary limits are too low in order to classify as a luxury the wisdom of legislature has to be respected as being for the good of the citizenry at large and not to the sentiments of a few