9911796707
TMI Blog2007 (4) TMI 636X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1997 issued by the Government of Assam in exercise of powers under section 9(4) of the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993 (herein after referred to as, the Act ). Consequent correction of the eligibility certificate granted to the petitioner as well as the assessment of tax against the petitioner vide order dated July 9, 2004 passed by the Superintendent of Taxes, Goalpara have also been challenged in the instant writ petition. Dr. A.K. Saraf, the learned Senior Counsel has submitted that the petitioner unit was set up in order to obtain the benefit of sales tax exemption granted by the notification dated September 20, 1997. After the unit was set up, the petitioner unit was granted the eligibility certificate on February 12, 2004 making ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upon the decision reported in B.P. Oil Mills Ltd. v. Sales Tax Tribunal [1998] 111 STC 188 (SC), Ashirwad Ispat Udyog v. State Level Committee [1999] 112 STC 207 (SC), Sonebhadra Fuels v. Commissioner, Trade Tax, U.P. Lucknow [2006] 147 STC 594 (SC); [2006] 7 SCC 322. The decision of this court Megha Assam Coal Mines (India) Ltd. v. State of Assam reported in [2005] 140 STC 339 has been also cited by the learned senior counsel. Mr. Dubey, learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, has argued that the definition of manufacture given under section 2(22) of the Act cannot be considered to apply to the manufacture process in the petitioner's unit whereby pure mustard oil is produced from raw mustard oil by the proce ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... different article. Accordingly the Supreme Court held that coal briquettes or coal tikli made out of coal are a different commodity from coal while interpreting the provisions of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948. In Megha Assam Coal Mines (India) Ltd. [2005] 140 STC 339 this court was examining whether washed clean coal through a process of removing ash content from 25 per cent to 5 per cent, become a different product from raw coal, within meaning of definition of manufacture , given in section 2(22) of the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993. From the above decisions cited by the learned counsel for the petitioner, it can be inferred that in order to decide on the eligibility of the petitioner's unit for sales tax exemption, one ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial exemption of any tax payable under this Act on the raw materials or other input purchased by them within the State or on the manufactured goods sold by them within the State or in the course of inter-State trade or commerce for such period or periods as may be specified or by way of deferment of the tax payable by them under this Act for such period as may be specified and subject to such other restrictions and conditions as may be provided in such scheme or schemes: Provided that the State Government may withdraw any such exemption granted by any scheme at any time as it may think proper. Under the afore quoted section 9(4) of the Act, the Government by issuing notifications may frame scheme for grant of relief of sales tax ex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o new product can be said to be produced inasmuch as, the petitioner, through the process of purification of raw mustard oil does not convert raw mustard oil into anything else but mustard oil. Thus, the raw material used, as well as the produced goods, is nothing but mustard oil, although it may be mustard oil of better quality. The authorities while examining the case of the petitioner unit during the deliberation on April 9, 2004 found that the petitioner is purchasing major quantity of mustard oil for use as raw material and after filtering the purchased mustard oil, is packing it in pouches and selling the same. The Review Committee found that there is no manufacture through such process as no physical change take place in the r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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