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TMI Blog2007 (6) TMI 514X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r the period from 1-1-1988 to 31-3-1989 and made a demand note ignoring the fixed capital investment by the petitioner. Respondent No. 2. State Industrial and Investment Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (SICOM., for short) in Writ Petition No. 317 of 1993 wrote to the petitioner therein by the impugned letter dated 18-1-1993 that the eligibility certificate entitled the petitioner to claim 90% of the estimated capital cost of ₹ 614 lacs, which came to ₹ 552.60 lacs only and, therefore, the petitioner was not entitled to claim exemption to the extent of ₹ 652.13 lacs, which the petitioner had sought. Aggrieved by these adverse communications from the respondents, the petitioners have approached this Court by filing these ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lity certificate by the Development Corporation of Vidarbha Limited, which is annexed as Annexure-B to the petition, showing that the petitioner proposed to make fixed capital investment of ₹ 3,08,000/-for the purpose of the 1979 Scheme of Sales Tax Incentives. The petitioner has annexed a certificate of entitlement issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax at Annexure-C to the petition, which mentions that the certificate would be valid for a period from 15-3-1985 to 14-3-1994, i.e. for nine years, and that the petitioner would be entitled to total cumulative sales tax incentives by way of exemption subject to a ceiling of 100% of the fixed capital investment and the period of sales tax incentives admissible would be nine years ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itled to add amounts spent in fixed capital investment even during the currency of the exemption certificate. With the help of the learned Advocates for the parties, we have gone through the original Scheme notified by Government Resolution dated 5-1-1980, as also the modified Scheme notified by Government Resolution dated 57-1982. Clause 2.5 in the 1980 Scheme reads as under: FIXED ASSETS: 2.5 The term 'Fixed Assets. covers all the assets of the unit as erected at site and includes a) Land; b) Building-and built-up area used for the eligible unit including administrative building, residential quarters, industrial housing and all such facilities provided in the building as are required for the manufacturing processes. c) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ibility being nine years is concerned, there is no dispute. As regards the procedure of computation is concerned, the reference in both these clauses is to 'cumulative gross fixed capital investment with reduction of written off, etc.'. The concept of cumulative gross fixed capital investment obviously rules out the possibility of the gross fixed capital investment being restricted to amount mentioned in the eligibility certificate at the time of commencement of the activity, or availing the Scheme, obviously as ongoing addition up to prescribed time-limit of period of exemption is permitted. 10. The 1982 Scheme refers to sales tax exemptions in Clause 5. Clause 5.3 refers to the quantum of exemption and reads as under: QUANTU ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e tax liability as the case may be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ during the above period ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Resource Based Units : As per Group 'B' area. 11. It may be seen that even this clause clearly specifies that the exemption is to be availed up to a fixed percentage of capital investment during the above period., i.e. during the period for which sales tax incentive is admissible. This rules out the interpretation that the sales tax exemption was to be restricted to the gross fixed capital investment referred to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Petition No. 317 of 1993 cannot be sustained. They are accordingly quashed and set aside. 15. What this Court has decided is the principle underlying the entitlement, and not the assessment of amount of eligibility in terms of what the petitioners have claimed. It would be necessary for the petitioners in these two petitions to satisfy the authorities by producing relevant factual evidence to show as to what was their cumulative capital investment during the nine-year period entitling them to exemptions under the 1979/1982 Schemes, before actually availing of the benefit, and assessing authorities would be entitled to scrutinise correctness thereof unless eligibility certificate under the scheme is already issued by the competent authori ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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