(1.) THE first petitioner is a company registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 with its registered office at Mumbai, but more importantly having its production units mainly cement producing plants in different locations in the State of Karnataka, amongst them two plants at Wadi in Gulbarga district of this State. The petitioner is also a registered dealer under the provisions of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (for short, 'the Act') as also the provisions of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The writ petition is for seeking the relief in the context of certain concession or benefits extended in respect of the sales tax turnover of the petitioner's expanded unit at their plants in Wadi, Gulbarga district, in terms of the Government Notification No. FD 187 CSL 2000(I), (II) and III dated June 5, 2000, a copy of which is produced at annexure K to the writ petition, and on the promise that the real benefit under this notification is to some extent denied to the petitioner by the condition imposed therein, which condition is one linking the concession or benefit to payment or non -payment of the amount which was the average tax liability of the petitioner's sales turnover in existing units at the place, computed on the average of the last three years tax liability of the existing unit or the actual tax liability, whichever is higher.
(2.) THE petitioner -company has approached this court for the relief on the premise that the authorities purporting to implement the condition as envisaged in the proviso to Clause (iv) of the condition in this notification have been demanding and collecting the tax at an amount higher than the actual liability on the part of the petitioner in respect of its earlier unit and such collection of the tax over and above the actual liability of the petitioner in respect of his existing unit is bad in law ; that assuming for the purpose of arguments, the condition so provides, the condition is an illegal condition, the condition which is at variance with the exemption and concession granted to persons like the petitioners in the new industrial policy of the Government of Karnataka for the years 1996 -2001 and the benefit or concession extended to such industries referred to in the policy for the expansion, etc., in terms of annexure I to the Government Order No. CI 30 SPC 96 dated March 15, 1996. Particular reference is drawn to annexure II to this Government order, providing for package of incentives and concessions and here again to item No. 5 of the concessions, under the heading Sales tax concession for new units. The version of the petitioner is that the condition imposed in the exemption notification dated June 5, 2000, purporting to be as a follow -up of the provisions of this policy as also the Government Order No. CI 2 SPI 97 dated September 5, 1998, is not really a condition in consonance with the policy; that the condition as was incorporated for the first time in the Government Order dated September 5,1998 in itself is not authorised in law and such condition should be held to be bad in law and necessary declaration be granted and relief also be extended to the petitioner.
(3.) IT is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner being desirous of availing such benefits, planned to set up new units at its Wadi plant for manufacturing what is known as Pozzuolana Portland Cement (PPC) in addition to manufacture of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) that was being manufactured in its existing units. The PPC type was using the fly -ash - -a byproduct produced in thermal plants as the raw material in place of conventional raw material, viz., limestone ore used for the manufacture of OPC. The unit was set up with considerable investment, which according to the petitioner, at a cost of Rs. 410 crores, especially to take advantage of the new industrial policy of 1996 -2001. It is also the case of the petitioner that they had made necessary application for availing of the incentives of the industrial policy, 1996 -2001.