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TMI Blog2016 (10) TMI 258X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he aforesaid appeals are same, for the purpose of convenience, we have taken facts from Civil Appeal No.2806 of 2009. 3. The appellant is a private limited company engaged in the business of blending and packing of tea. After some modernisation, it commenced its production in April, 1988. The case of the appellant-Company was with regard to availing sales tax concession declared by the respondent-State. Before going through the relevant provisions, we may record the fact that the respondent-State had notified its Industrial Policy in 1982, which had thereafter been revised in 1986. The said Policy had been framed so as to increase economic and industrial growth in the State. 4. In pursuance of the aforestated Policy, the respondent-State ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n eligibility certificate dated 7th July, 1988 under the 1982 Incentive Scheme of Government of Assam as amended in 1986. By virtue of the said certificate dated 7th July, 1988, exemption in respect of payment of sales tax had been granted to the appellant-Company w.e.f. 14th April, 1988 to 13th April, 1993, as the appellant- Company was eligible to get the exemption from payment of sales tax under the 1986 Incentive Scheme of Government of Assam. 9. The learned counsel further submitted that as per the exemption granted under the eligibility certificate, the respondent-State and the Sales Tax Authorities of the respondent-State were bound to give exemption from payment of sales tax to the appellant, but the appellant had been denied the e ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the purpose of blending and packing, the appellant was not entitled to any exemption. 12. Moreover, he submitted that the appellant- Company was not involved in any manufacturing activity. It was merely blending and packing tea and blending as well as packing of tea was not a manufacturing activity and therefore, also the appellant was not entitled to the benefit claimed by it. 13. The learned counsel thereafter submitted that according to the provisions of Section 4 of the Act, Certificate of Authorisation should have been procured by the appellant for availing the benefit under the Act. Such a Certificate of Authorisation had never been issued to the appellant-Company and therefore, the appellant was not entitled to the exemption in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e petition, vide order dated 17th August, 1988 held that Rule 2(f) of the 1988 Rules was legal and valid and the plea of promissory estoppel raised by the appellant was also not accepted. Against the said judgment, no appeal was filed by the appellant and therefore, the said issue had attained finality. 18. Another important thing is with regard to certificate of authorisation. 19. It is an admitted fact that so as to avail the benefit as per Section 4 of the Act, certificate of authorisation is a must. The said Section reads as under: "4. Certificate of authorisation - (1) A person undertaking to manufacture in the State such goods, as may be prescribed, may make an application in the prescribed form to the prescribed authority and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e notice to the holder that the holder has ceased to carry on business or for any other sufficient reason." 20. As stated hereinabove, it is an admitted fact that no certificate of authorisation, as provided under the Act, had ever been granted to the appellant-Company and therefore, in our opinion, the courts below were absolutely right to the effect that the appellant was not entitled to any sales tax exemption. 21. So far as the averments with regard to estoppel are concerned, it is a settled legal position that there cannot be any estoppel against law. When there is a legal provision to the effect that when tea is used as raw material, no tax exemption would be available under the provisions of the Act, none can claim tax exemption i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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