(1.) This revision under S.41 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (the Act in brief), is at the instance of the Revenue and relates to the assessment made on the respondent under the Act for the assessment year 1981-82. The assessee is running an oil mill by name Afra Oil Mill at Payanagadi in Cannanore District, which he has taken on lease from one Smt. C. P. Abeeda. The oil mill in question is a "new industrial unit under the small scale industries" set up after 1-4-1979 and hence coming within the purview of notification SRO. No. 968/80 issued by the Government of Kerala in exercise of the powers vested in them under S.10 of the Act. The assessee claimed exemption from payment of sales tax in respect of the sale of the coconut oil and oil cake produced by him in the mill, as under the above mentioned notification. The assessing authority repelled this claim for exemption for two reasons, namely that the assessee did not produce the proceedings of the General Manager, District Industries Centre declaring the eligibility of the unit for exemption and that the assessee was running the oil mill only as a lessee from C. P. Abeeda and as such was not entitled to exemption as he bad no investment on fixed capital in the unit. Before the first appellate authority the assessee produced the requisite proceedings of the General Manager of the District Industries Centre regarding the eligibility of the unit for exemption from sales tax. The first Appellate Authority however, held that the assessee, being only a lessee and not the owner, the benefit of the exemption under the notification aforesaid was not available to him.
(2.) The assessee took up the matter in second appeal. The Tribunal accepted the assessee's claim for exemption stating that there was no stipulation under the notification that the owner of the unit alone will be entitled to the exemption and that in view of the proceedings of the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Cannanore, the assessee was entitled to exemption in respect of the goods produced in the Afra Oil Mill and sold by him. The appeal was thus allowed and the revision is filed therefrom.
(3.) Sri. T. Karunakaran Nambiar, counsel for the Revenue strenuously contends that the exemption under the notification is available only to the owner of the unit, who has invested funds for the setting up of the unit and to none else. We shall examine this contention.