HALLARY FOOTWEAR P LTD Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The only point which arises for adjudication in this petition is whether the rejection of petitioner's application for grant of eligibility certificate is legally correct and justified.

(2.) The facts necessary for deciding this case are that the petitioner who is engaged in the manufacture of Hawai chappals and shoes in its factory at Bahadurgarh, District Rohtak and who is registered under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") applied for grant of eligibility certificate under rule 28-A of the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules" ). The lower level screening committee rejected the petitioner's request on the ground that the application is time-barred and the higher level screening committee dismissed its appeal in identical ground.

(3.) Shri P. C. Goyal argued that the application dated December 13, 1996 submitted by the petitioner could not have been rejected as time-barred because the petitioner was not entitled to apply for grant of eligibility certificate till October 30, 1996 in view of the fact that the goods manufactured by it were included in the list of tax-free goods specified in Schedule "b" of the Act till October 30, 1996. He further argued that the rejection of the application submitted by the petitioner is violative of principles of natural justice, inasmuch as the reasons which constitute basis of the decisions of the lower level screening committee and the higher level screening committee have not been communicated to it. Shri Jaswant Singh supported the impugned decisions by arguing that the application filed by the petitioner after 90 days of the commencement of production, i. e. , February 15, 1994 has been rightly rejected as time-barred in view of rule 28-A (5) of the rules. He, however, fairly conceded that the goods manufactured by the petitioner were included at item No. 71 in the list of tax-free goods till October 30, 1996.