TMI Blog2007 (11) TMI 394X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4 would have to be taken. - Civil Appeal No. 8315 of 2001 - - - Dated:- 13-11-2007 - ASHOK BHAN AND SIRPURKAR V.S. JJ. R. Venkataraman, Senior Advocate [V. Prabhakar and Ashok K. Sadhu Khan (for M.K.D. Namboodiri), Advocates with him] for the appellant. T.L.V. Iyer, Senior Advocate, [S. Joseph Aristotle and S. Prabhu Ramasubramanian (for V.G. Pragasam), Advocates with him] for the respondent. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the court was delivered by V.S. SIRPURKAR J. The judgment of the High Court denying the exemption from payment of sales tax is under challenge in this appeal at the instance of the appellant, Pondicherry State Cooperative Consumer Federation Ltd. (for sho ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... b-section (3) of section 19 of the Pondicherry General Sales Tax Act, 1967 a general exemption is provided from payment of sales tax on the turnover of the sales of goods "manufactured" by (i) small-scale industries which went into production on or after 6th November, 1969; and (ii) All industries other than small-scale industries which went into production on or after April 1, 1971, as certified by the Director of Industries, Pondicherry. There is no difficulty and it is an accepted position that the appellant-assessee is covered by this Government Order. The Department, however, took the view that purchase of palmolive oil and then re-packing the same could not amount to manufacture of goods and as such the said G. O. could not be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on under the similar circumstances. There also, the question was: as to whether the small-scale industry which was engaged in bottling of anhydrous ammonia could be said to be entitled to the exemption from payment of sales tax on the ground that it was manufacturing such goods since there was a general exemption offered by the Andhra Pradesh Government by G.O. Ms. No. 117 dated March 17, 1993 to the small-scale industry. There also it was found on inspection that the assessee industry was allowed irregular tax exemption on the first sales of anhydrous liquefied ammonia as it was found that the commodity that was purchased and sold was one of the same and there was no new commodity that had emerged and that the assessee had only done bottli ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he facts. In our view the law laid down in this decision is applicable to the present case on all fours. Here also the authorities had firstly certified the assessee's industry to be small-scale industry and had then proceeded to grant exemption to it from payment of sales tax on the goods manufactured. The said certificate was not found to have been erroneously issued and was very much in vogue when the show cause notices came to be served on the assessee. The G.O. providing exemption clearly suggested that such exemption was given in the public interest. Therefore, it is obvious that the decision in Vadilal Chemicals' case [2005] 6 SCC 292(1) would be equally applicable as even in that case what the industry did was to bottle the ammoni ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e to the present situation. In that view we are of the clear opinion that since in the present case the exemption was granted to all small-scale industrial units registered with the Director of Industries and since the assessee was recognised and certified as a small industrial unit, engaged in the activity of re-packing of edible oil and further since the exemption was granted with the open eyes to this particular industry, the State cannot be allowed to run around and take a stance that the appellant-assessee was not entitled to the exemption on the ground that it did not manufacture any goods. We are in respectful agreement with the view taken in Vadilal Chemicals' case [2005] 6 SCC 292(1) which is more particularly reflected in paras 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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