TMI Blog2006 (9) TMI 496X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... trial Promotion (Assistance to Industrial Unit) Scheme, 1994 by which the sales tax collected out of sale of detergent to a substantial extent was to be paid back to the manufacturer as and by way of subsidy and/or incentive. Accordingly, the petitioner claimed subsidy, which was not extended to the petitioner by the concerned authority. The petitioner moved a writ petition being W. P. No. 717 of 2000 when the learned single Judge directed the authority to consider his representation and dispose of the same after giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing. Accordingly, the concerned authority gave personal hearing to the representative of the writ petitioner and by a reasoned order dated April 11, 2000 appearing at pages 51-53 of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ording to the learned Judge since the authority gave personal hearing and passed a reasoned order and came to a conclusion that SPS was used as a lubricating agent and not detergent, the court did not find any reason to interfere with the order passed by the authority. The learned Judge also observed that the writ petitioner could not produce any evidence before the authority to hold that SPS was nothing but a detergent. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the judgment and order of his Lordship the present appeal was filed. We have heard the parties at length. We have perused the reasoned order passed by the authority as well as learned single Judge while rejecting the claim of the petitioner/appellant. Two decisions of the apex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the question as to what was the true connotation of the words sanitary fittings and whether the hume pipes manufactured and sold by the respondents were sanitary fittings within the meaning of that expression was a question of law and since the entire material on the basis of which this question could be determined was placed before the Sales Tax Officer and it pointed in one and only one direction, namely, that the hume pipes were not sanitary fittings and there was nothing to show otherwise, the High Court was justified in entertaining the writ petition. Considering the aforesaid two apex court decisions our understanding of the law on the subject is as follows: I. To classify particular goods, the exact definition of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... um petroleum sulphonate, to have proper determination of the identity of the said goods we can take recourse to any other Act. Under the Customs Tariff Act sodium petroleum sulphonate was scheduled in detergent group. Moreover, on perusal of various dictionaries including chemical dictionary, it appears to us that SPS is a chemical component that is commonly known as detergent in commercial parlance. Hence, we do not find any reason why SPS could not be considered as detergent for the purpose of getting benefit under the 94 scheme. The concerned authority rejected the claim relying on the statement of the purchaser of SPS. It is not unknown that a particular component might have multi-purpose use. Even the dictionary meaning would show th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed under the statute to consider the application for subsidy. So as long as they discharged their duties within the framework of the scheme their order would not be available for judicial review. In the instant case, the authority did not exercise their discretion in terms of the said scheme of 1994 as we find on scrutiny of the said order as discussed above. Hence, such order of the authority in our view was available to this court for challenge and the writ petition was maintainable on that score. The appeal succeeds. The order impugned in the writ petition appearing at page Nos. 51-53 of the paper book dated April 11, 2006 is quashed and set aside. The concerned authority is directed to consider the application for subsidy made by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|