COMMERCIAL TAXES OFFICER, ALWAR Vs. VIJAY SOLVEX LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INSTANT sales tax revision petition is directed against the order dated March 6, 1998, passed by the Rajasthan Tax Board, Ajmer (for short. "Tax Board") by which the Tax Board directed the State Level Screening Committee, Jaipur (for short, "SLSC") to consider the application of the respondent -assessee in the light of the directions given by the Tax Board. Brief facts, as emerging on the face of record, are that the respondent -assessee is a limited company and is engaged in the manufacturing of "vanaspati ghee" and applied on March 25, 1995 to DIC, Alwar, for the benefit under the Sales Tax Incentive Scheme, 1989, on the basis of diversification. Though the application was to be submitted in the office of the SLSC at Jaipur but the same was submitted on March 25, 1995 at Alwar. This application was forwarded by the DIC, Alwar, to the SLSC on May 17, 1995, i.e., after more than 45 days. The respondent -assessee also submitted an application directly to the Directorate on May 29, 1995, i.e., after more than two months of submitting it at the office of DIC, Alwar.

(2.) THE SLSC, in its meeting held on June 29, 1995, while agreeing in principle to allow the benefit to the unit, desired a reference to be made to the Government of Rajasthan proposing that if "vanaspati ghee" units, which were put in the negative list on March 27, 1995, made 50 per cent investment or more before the aforesaid date and commenced commercial production by March 31, 1995, might be treated eligible for the benefit of the above incentive scheme. It was brought on record before the SLSC that a completion certificate was already issued in the case of the respondent -assessee on June 13, 1995, which was made effective from June 2, 1995 and the respondent -assessee, on the strength of such certificate, was entitled to avail of the benefit in accordance with the provisions of the Sales Tax Incentive Scheme, 1989.

(3.) IN pursuance to the order passed by the Tax Board, the SLSC again granted personal hearing to the director of the unit and it was pleaded by the director of the respondent -company that the date of submission of the application to DIC, Alwar may be treated as application submitted to the SLSC and if the SLSC did not treat the application given to the DIC, Alwar, the delay in submission may be condoned. It was also pleaded that the honourable Chief Minister of Rajasthan, in his budget speech in March, 1995, had declared that such units, which had made substantial investment prior to March 27, 1995, would not be deprived of the benefit of Sales Tax Incentive Scheme, even if they had not started commercial production before March 27, 1995.