M/S. SOMANI FERRO ALLOYS LTD. AND ANOTHER Vs. WEST BENGAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LTD. AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts inter alia leading to this writ petition are that the petitioner No. 1 is a Company duly incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 and is a manufacturer and dealer, inter alia, of mild steel and alloy ingot, bars and rounds and other structurals.

(2.) A Scheme has been framed by the State of West Bengal for 4 refund of sales tax already paid as loan to the eligible industrial units to be set up and/or expanded in the State and as a part of its Industrial policy decided to grant on merits of each case incentive at its discretion 1 announced and provided in its resolution No. 2536-Ind PL dated 6.4.83 as amended from time to time. The said scheme is known as 6t Bengal Incentive Scheme, 1983. It is the contention of the petitioners that the petitioner No 1-Company was and is facing a tremendous recession in its trade. In order to boost it up it needed e governmental help. It, therefore, availed of the aforesaid incentive scheme and entered into an agreement with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd., the authority appointed by State of West Bengal to grant the aforesaid loans on 21st March, By the said agreement the aforesaid Corporation agreed to give a n of Rs. 31,91,000.00 which was already paid by the Company towards sales tax for the period from 1st July, 1988 to 31st March, 1991. Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (herein after referred to as a Corporation) after considering all the factors, after finding satisfied that the petitioner company had actually paid the afore-I account of Rs. 31,91,000.00 as sales tax for the aforesaid period and after finding the petitioner company to be an eligible unit under the said Incentive Scheme, entered into the aforesaid agreement dated 21st March, 1992 to disburse an amount of Rs. 31,91,000.00as unto the petitioner.

(3.) The petitioner-company in the meantime applied to the Board it industrial and financial re-construction for declaring the company as sick unit under section 15 of Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act. 1985. The Board, however, after a prolong hearing was posed o pass an order keeping the matter pending. The petitioner referred an appeal before the Appellate Authority and the said appeal still pending. In the meantime, Industrial Re-construction department (the Government of West Bengal, on 1st Jan., 1993 granted the petitioner company the status of relief undertaking for a period of six months or till the date of the disposal of the case by the Board, which is earlier.