NEHA POHA UDYOG Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall also dispose of the following writ petitions :

(2.) THE petitioners in all these petitions are registered dealers for the purposes of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958 (in short, "the State Act"), and those of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (in short, "the Central Act" ). They are engaged in the business of manufacturing poha and are registered as small-scale industrial units with the Industries Department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Their common grievance is denial of eligibility certificate by the Director of Industries, M. P. , Bhopal, which is resulting in denial of exemptions from payment of sales tax under the State and the Central Acts as per Notification dated 23rd October, 1981 (annexure 3 in M. P. No. 3476 of 1989), issued under Section 12 of the State Act, as amended by Notification dated 3rd July, 1987 (annexure L in M. P. No. 3474 of 1989), read with further Notification dated 16th October, 1986, issued under Section 12 of the State Act by the State Government and published in Madhya Pradesh Rajpatra dated 21st October, 1986, and as per Notification dated 29th June, 1982 (annexure D1 in M. P. No. 3476 of 1989), issued under Section 8 (5) of the Central Act by the State Government. Accordingly, they have made a common prayer for directing the Director of Industries, M. P. , to issue them the requisite eligibility certificates, so as to enable them to obtain exemptions from payment of sales tax under the said Acts.

(3.) IT is not in dispute that Section 12 (1) (i) of the State Act empowers the State Government to exempt by notification any class of dealers or any goods or class of goods from the payment of tax under the Act for a specified period and subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be specified in the notification and that, in exercise of that power, Notifications dated 23rd October, 1981, 3rd July, 1987 and 16th October, 1986, were issued by the State Government. Similarly Section 8 (5) of the Central Act empowers the State Government to grant exemption from payment of sales tax under the Central Act by issuing an appropriate notification in that regard and that, in exercise of that power, Notification dated 29th June, 1982, was issued by the State Government. In all these notifications, one of the conditions for obtaining the notified exemption was production of an eligibility certificate from the Director of Industries, M. P. , or from any officer authorised by him for the purpose. The petitioners in all these petitions having fulfilled all other conditions of the said notifications, applied for eligibility certificate. Some of the applications have been rejected and others are likely to be rejected by the Director of Industries on the ground that in the light of a Full Bench decision of this Court in Jagdamba Industries v. State of M. P. [1988] 69 STC 1 ; 1988 MPLJ 620 ; 1988 JLJ 701, a poha mill was a traditional industry and, therefore, not entitled to any exemption under the said notifications.