9911796707
TMI Blog2002 (10) TMI 752X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... deferral for 14 years up to full value of investment". That G.O. as also G.O. Ms. No. 323 set out that "existing norms and guidelines for sanction of subsidy and sales tax waiver/deferral will be applicable in full" to those schemes. Neither of these two Government orders in terms refer to the earlier Government order which had been issued on May 14, 1990 in G.O. Ms. No. 500 which dealt with further liberalisation of incentive scheme for industries located in the most backward taluks. G.O. Ms. No. 500 requires the production of any eligibility certificate from the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) by medium scale and major industries as a pre-condition for obtaining the benefit of waiver/deferral. 3.. Petitioner applied to SIPCOT on September 8, 1995 for the eligibility certificate, and obtained the same on February 16, 1996. That certificate sets out that the petitioner for its unit located in Punjai Pugalur Village, Karur Taluk, Trichy District, for the manufacture of newsprint, printing and writing papers, would be eligible to avail the sales tax waiver scheme of the Tamil Nadu and specified the limit up to which such waiver could be availed, viz., ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al benefit to another industry Ashok Leyland Limited, to a letter addressed to that company by the Government on March 15, 1993 as also the letter dated July 22, 1993 received by the Government from the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes sets out, inter alia, that, "the Special Commissioner and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Madras, has now reported that while issuing eligibility certificates for expansion cases, SIPCOT alone adds a clause that past revenue before the expansion should be protected as other organisations, particularly District Industries Centre do not seem to be aware of this system and issue very open ended eligibility certificates, which often causes problems to the Commercial Taxes Department, especially when some industries tend to take on more and more of the manufacture and sales in the expanded units and decrease it in the old units. Accordingly the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes for the reason stated above, has recommended that the principles laid down for the Ashok Leyland Limited referred to in the Government letter Ms. No. 113, Industries, dated March 15, 1993 may be adopted as a general principle for all expansion cases and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... der could be traced to the statutory power to grant waiver and exemption, and that the waiver granted would result in promissory estoppel. Reliance was also placed on the case of P.P.P. Industries v. Commissioner of Industries [1994] 92 STC 110 (AP), which decision also rested on the ground of promissory estoppel. Counsel also relied on an unreported judgment of this Court in the case of Thiagarajar Mills Ltd. v. Assessment Circle (CT), Coimbatore Writ Petition No. 16952 of 1994 decided on February 22, 1995, wherein it was held that a certificate issued by the competent authority specified in the G.O. Ms. No. 500 which incorporated a condition which was not set out in that G.O. was required to be quashed. 11.. The learned Advocate-General appearing for the State submitted that the petitioner is estopped from raising the contentions now raised. He submitted that the petitioner had executed an agreement dated March 19, 1996, which agreement the petitioner had executed after obtaining the eligibility certificate on February 16, 1996 as amended on March 16, 1996. That agreement had been cancelled by the Government on December 26, 1997 for breach of the terms of agreement, and it was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cates and the need to discontinue the issue of "very open ended eligibility certificates". It also refers to the recommendation made by the Commissioner that "the principles laid down for Ashok Leyland Limited......... may be adopted as a general principle for all expansion cases..........." 15.. The policy decision taken by the Government was to be applied for all expansion cases and what was dealt with in that Government order was a general principle, and not merely an additional requirement limited in its application only to cases of deferral. The language used in sub-paragraph (v) of paragraph 3 advisedly omits any reference either to waiver or deferral as, what is stated therein is meant to apply to cases of waiver as also to cases of deferral and was meant to protect the revenue in all expansion cases. 16.. The entire case putforth for the petitioner rests on the faulty premise that this G.O. Ms. No. 119 is inapplicable in cases to waiver. 17.. The benefit given to the industries by way of sales tax concessions was meant to promote the establishments of new capacity which would, in course of time, result in a larger revenue to the State by way of realisation of sales ta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
