RANASARIYA POLYPACK PVT. LTD Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition is filed under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India seeking to direct the respondents to grant benefits of exemption from payment of electricity duty from 02.06.2003 to 01.06.2008 for its industrial unit at village Motibhoyan, Tal.Kalol, District: Gandhinagar and to refund the amount of electricity duty paid by the petitioner in excess of the amount arrived at for exemption of duty.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that it had started job work activities at village Vatva at District: Ahmedabad ( 'Vatva unit ', for short) in the year 2007 where no production activities were undertaken. However, it started its production/manufacturing unit at village Motibhoyan at District: Gandhinagar ( 'Motibhoyan unit ', for short) on 02.06.2003 where separate meter for recording of the consumption of electricity was installed on 01.08.2003. The unit at Motibhoyan is separate and distinct industrial undertaking and for such industrial undertaking the petitioner applied for exemption from payment of electricity duty and as per Section 3 (2) (vii) (b) of the Bombay Electricity Duty Act, 1958 ( 'the Act ' , for short), the petitioner was entitled to exemption from payment of electricity duty for first five years. However, it was granted the benefit of the exemption from 01.08.2003 to 31.08.2007 curtailing the benefit for eleven months.

(3.) The petition is opposed by affidavit-in-reply mainly on the ground that the petitioner is entitled to benefit of exemption from payment of electricity duty for five years from the date on which its industrial undertaking commences for the first point of time manufacturing or production activities, however, since the petitioner had started a job work activity at its unit at Vatva, from 01.09.2002 the period of exemption has been reduced by nine months as it is the continuous industrial undertaking of the petitioner. It is also stated that the certificate of incorporation and Sales-tax Registration Certificate as also the Sales-tax certificate with Memorandum of Articles of Association of the petitioner revealed that the manufacturing activity of the petitioner at Motibhoyan is the branch of Vatva unit and the description of the machineries installed at Vatva unit and at Motibhoyan unit were shown to comply with the eligibility criteria given under explanation of Section 3 (2) (vii) (b) of the Act and thereby the petitioner has intentionally tried to defraud the Authority by giving deceptive claim for exemption. It is stated that the Unit at Motibhoyan is not a new industrial undertaking but is a continuous activity of industrial undertaking at Vatva and therefore the petitioner is made entitled to the exemption for the period from the date of commencing Vatva unit.