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TMI Blog1980 (7) TMI 251X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... scale industries which were in existence and registered with the Industries Department as such on 12th April, 1971, for a period of three years from that date; (2) that the exemption from payment of sales/purchase tax in the case of small-scale industries which came into being and are registered with the Industries Department as such after 12th April, 1971, would be applicable for a period of 5 years commencing from the date of their coming into existence; (3) that the small-scale industries registered as such with the Industries Department who deal partly in the manufacture of goods and partly otherwise, would be entitled to avail the sales/purchase tax holiday in respect of such goods as are purchased by them for the purpose of manufacture for sale in Himachal Pradesh; (4) that no holiday from Central sales tax would be available to small-scale industries under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956; * * * (7) that the holiday from the sales/purchase tax will be subject to the filing of certificate of genuineness with the assessing authority concerned by 30th April, each year, granted by the Director of Industries, Himachal Pradesh, under his signature." It may be noticed that cond ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ector of Industries as also the certificate of eligibility by the District Industries Officer, Simla, was granted on 28th December, 1974, to the petitioner. On 5th July, 1978, a Gazette notification "in supersession of this department notification of even number dated 27th May, 1974, and 5th April, 1976, and in exercise of the powers conferred under section 6 of the Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968, with a view to provide incentive to the small-scale industries in Himachal Pradesh, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh is pleased to levy the sales tax on the terms and conditions hereunder prescribed, with immediate effect" was issued. The conditions relevant for our purposes are these: "(i) that a general sales tax shall be levied on the products manufactured by new small-scale industrial units at the rate of 2 per cent for the first five years and at the rate of 4 per cent for the next five years in respect of goods leviable to general sales tax at the rate of 7 per cent. In the case of goods leviable to general sales tax at the rate of more than 7 per cent, sales tax will be payable at the rate of 3 per cent for the first five years and 5 per cent for the next five yea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... riod for which the concession has been availed, failing which it shall pay tax for the remaining period, equal to the amount which would have been paid during the said exempted period but for such exemption; (5) that the concession shall be available when the articles manufactured are sold exclusively by manufacturers themselves; (6) that the concession shall not be open for finished goods imported by the small-scale industrial units for resale in the Pradesh; and (7) that the concession detailed above will be subject to the filing of certificate of genuineness with the assessing authority concerned by 30th April, every year, granted by the Director of Industries, Himachal Pradesh, under his signature." It may at this stage be noticed that the petitioner was manufacturing goods on which general sales tax at the rate of more than 7 per cent is leviable. This notification inter alia required a manufacturer already enjoying tax holiday to sell his goods himself only before he could claim the concession. Thus curbs were placed on the tax holiday. Representations were made by the petitioners against these notifications but no action was taken by the State Government. According to t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ilarly placed. The ambit of "promissory estoppel" came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Anglo Afghan AgenciesA.I.R. 1968 S.C. 718. (referred to as Indo-Afghan Agencies in the later judgments of the Supreme Court). In this case the Textile Commissioner published a scheme called the Export Promotion Scheme providing incentives to exporters of woollen goods. This scheme was extended to exports of woollen goods to Afghanistan. It was represented that the exporters will be entitled to import raw materials of the total amount equal to 100 per cent of the f.o.b. value of the exports. However, this was denied to M/s. Anglo Afghan Agencies. The court held thus: "We hold that the claim of the respondents is appropriately founded upon the equity which arises in their favour as a result of the representation made on behalf of the Union of India in the Export Promotion Scheme, and the action taken by the respondents acting upon that representation under the belief that the Government would carry out the representation made by it. On the facts proved in this case, no ground has been suggested before the court for exempting the Government from the equity arisin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich is untrue and a representation express or implied-to do something in future, there is no clear antithesis. A representation that something will be done in future may involve an existing intention to act in future in the manner represented. If the representation is acted upon by another person, it may, unless the statute governing the person making the representation provides otherwise, result in an agreement enforceable at law; if the statute requires that the agreement shall be in a certain form, no contract may result from the representation and acting therefor but the law is not powerless to raise in appropriate cases an equity against him to compel performance of the obligation arising out of his representation. Public bodies are as much bound as private individuals to carry out representations of facts and promises made by them, relying on which other persons have altered their position to their prejudice. The obligation arising against an individual out of his representation amounting to a promise may be enforced ex contractu by a person who acts upon the promise: when the law requires that a contract enforceable at law against a public body shall be in certain form or b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the making of the promise, public interest would be prejudiced if the Government were required to carry out the promise, the court would have to balance the public interest in the Government carrying out a promise made to a citizen which has induced the citizen to act upon it and alter his position and the public interest likely to suffer if the promise were required to be carried out by the Government and determined which way the equity lies. It would not be enough for the Government just to say that public interest requires that the Government should not be compelled to carry out the promise or that the public interest would suffer if the Government were required to honour it. The Government cannot, as Shah, J., pointed out in the Indo-Afghan Agencies' case[1968] 2 S.C.R. 366; A.I.R. 1968 S.C. 718., claim to be exempt from the liability to carry out the promise 'on some indefinite and undisclosed ground of necessity or expediency', nor can the Government claim to be the sole judge of its liability and repudiate it 'on an ex Parte appraisement of the circumstances'. If the Government wants to resist the liability, it will have to disclose to the court what are the subsequent event ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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