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2000 (11) TMI 1187

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..... ontrol of Water Pollution, the petitioner installed stone crusher at Village Dev Dhar in District Yamunanagar. Thereafter, it applied for grant of eligibility certificate under rule 28A(5) of the Rules. The General Manager, District Industries Centre, Yamunanagar, referred the same to respondent No. 3 for comments. Vide memo dated May 11, 1993, respondent No. 3 expressed the view that benefit of tax exemption cannot be granted to the petitioner because stone crusher falls in the negative list. Notwithstanding this, the LLSC accepted the petitioner's application. Consequently, the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Yamunanagar, issued eligibility certificate dated July 10, 1993 entitling the petitioner to claim exemption from payment of sales tax of Rs. 22,10,144 for the period from February 16, 1993 to May 31, 1997. However, the application submitted by the petitioner under rules 28A(6)(b) of the Rules for issuance of exemption certificate was rejected by respondent No. 3 vide order, annexure P13, mainly on the ground that stone crusher does not fall within the definition of eligible industrial unit. The relevant extract of that order is reproduced below: "After exami .....

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..... d on September 18, 1996 in appeal case of M/s. Nirmal Honey Stone Crusher Enterprises and others. The plea of appellants that they were entitled to exemption/deferment of sales tax in view of the provision of section 11 of the Haryana Regulation and Control of Crushers Act, 1991 was not found acceptable by the honourable Committee on the ground that the stone crushers were in the negative list under rule 28A of Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975 which has come into force on May 17, 1989 whereas the Haryana Regulation and Control of Crushers Act, 1991 has come into force on August 17, 1992. The benefit of exemption from payment of sales tax has been envisaged under section 13B of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, read with rule 28A of the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975. In this rule it has been provided that the benefit of exemption from payment of sales tax shall not be given to an industry included in the negative list. The stone crusher industries had been included in the negative list right from May 17, 1989 onwards todate. For these reasons the honourable Committee decided to reject the appeal." 3.. In the appeal filed by the petitioner against the order, ann .....

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..... iled by State is maintainable. On the second issue, it is not disputed that the unit was in the negative list and eligibility certificate cannot be granted to such units. However, if the eligibility certificate has been issued wrongly by LLSC, the proper forum for getting this order set aside is HLSC, as provided in rule 28A. There was nothing wrong in the first appellate authority directing the Assessing Authority to move the proper forum for the desired relief. It has also been brought to my notice that the appeal was filed before HLSC and the same is pending disposal before it. The fact has been got confirmed. HLSC is, therefore, requested to dispose of the appeal as early as possible so that further tax liability of the dealer is determined. Copy of this order be sent to HLSC for necessary action. As a consequence of above discussion, both the appeals are dismissed and order of the Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner (A) is upheld." 5. In the meanwhile, LLSC issued notice to the petitioner to show cause proposing withdrawal of the eligibility certificate on the ground that the stone crusher falls in the negative list and in its meeting held on March 3, 1999, the LLSC .....

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..... y HLSC is that the negative list published by industry department is not operative under rule 28A and list as contained in Schedule III appended to the said rule will be applicable. This question has also come up for consideration of honourable Punjab and Haryana High Court in C.W.P. No. 11682-85 of 1994 (Rao Stone Crushing v. State of Haryana [1997] 106 STC 471) and the honourable High Court was pleased to uphold the view taken by the HLSC. There is no dispute that this industrial unit did not qualify for tax benefits under rule 28A as it was not an eligible unit because as on the day of commercial production, stone crusher was in the negative list, i.e., Schedule III appended to rule 28A of Rules ibid. Now, the only question to which the committee should address is whether the eligibility certificate issued to an ineligible unit could be withdrawn without there being any contravention of the condition as prescribed in sub-rule (8) of rule 28A of Rules ibid. It has not been disputed that none of the conditions mentioned in the said subrule has been violated. However, the fact remains that the eligibility certificate (later on withdrawn by LLSC) was void ab initio is contrary t .....

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..... ana Regulation and Control of Crushers Act, 1991, assented by the President of India on July 31, 1992 and published in Haryana Gazette on August 17, 1992 and effective from the same date. After the enactment of the Act, the crusher zone was defined under section 2(b) of the 1991 Act. 3.. That section 3 of the said 1991 Act provided that licence shall be given only to those owners of the crushers which are installed in crusher zone. However, it was further provided that any owner who is running a crusher at the commencement of this Act (i.e., August 17, 1992), shall have to obtain a licence within a period of three months, if he is allowed to run the crusher at the site where it is installed. 4.. That in pursuance of the said provision, an application was made by the deponent for allowing the firm to run the crusher at the old site. Vide letter dated January 22, 1993 addressed to the Director, Mines and Geology, Haryana, Chandigarh, by Haryana State Pollution Control Board, the crusher of the deponent, along with the others was also decided to be allowed at the old place is according to the decision taken by the Government at higher level, it was found that these firms are ful .....

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..... .................. (d) 'licence' means a licence granted by the director; ................... 3. After the commencement of this Act, no person shall instal or run any crusher in any area within the State of Haryana unless he obtains a licence or gets his licence renewed from the Director under this Act on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed: Provided that licence shall be given only to those owners of the crushers which are installed in the crusher zone: Provided further that any owner who is running a crusher at the commencement of this Act, shall have to obtain a licence within a period of three months, if he is allowed to run the crusher at the site where it is installed, or within a period of six months, in case re-location of crusher in the crusher zone is required, after such commencement. 11.. In case an owner on installation of crusher in the crusher zone obtains a licence under this Act, he shall be entitled to the following incentives: (a) rebate of 5 per cent on payment of annual contract money in case of quarrying contract granted under rule 30 of the Punjab Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 1964, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000 (rupees f .....

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..... dustry. Sr. No. District No Industry Block ................................ 9. Yamunanagar I Bilaspur II Chhachhrauli III Radaur IV Sadhaura ..................................". The provisions of the 1973 Act: "Section 13-B: The State Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the interest of industrial development of the State, exempt such class of industries from the payment of tax, for such period and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed. Rule 28A(2). For the purpose of this chapter unless the context otherwise requires,- .................. (f) 'eligible industrial unit' means, (i) a new industrial unit or expansion or diversification of the existing unit, which- (I) has obtained certificate of registration under the Act; (II) is not a public sector undertaking where the Central Government held 51 per cent or more shares: (III) is not availing incentive of interest free loan from the Industries Department for investment after the 1st day of April, 1988. (IV) is not included in Schedule III appended to these rules. ............................ (j) 'eligibility certificate' means a certific .....

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..... es including exemption/deferment of sales tax, etc., admissible to the industries under various incentive schemes of the Industries Department. Paragraph 4 of the notification dated April 28, 1992 declares that an industry not falling in the negative list detailed in annexure D is entitled to claim benefit of sales tax exemption/deferment. Entry 4 of annexure D refers to the stone crusher not holding licence under the 1991 Act. This necessarily means that a stone crusher holding licence under the 1991 Act is entitled to claim the benefit of sales tax exemption/deferment under the notification issued by the Industries Department. 12.. Section 13B of the 1973 Act read with rule 28A of the Rules entitles an eligible industrial unit to avail incentives in the form of exemption on the basis of appropriate certificate issued by the competent authority. The definition of the phrase eligible industrial unit contained in rule 2(f) of the Rules excludes the industrial unit included in Schedule III appended to the Rules. Stone crusher is one of such industries. This means that so far as the provisions of the 1973 Act and the Rules are concerned, the owner of stone crusher is not entitled to .....

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..... ence by this Court under article 226 of the Constitution of India. A perusal of annexures P20 and P23 which contain the impugned decisions shows that the LLSC decided to withdraw the eligibility certificate on the ground that the stone crusher falls in the negative list and is not eligible for sales tax exemption under the Rules. The HLSC confirmed the decision of the LLSC on the premise that the applications filed by similarly situated persons had been rejected and the same had been upheld by the High Court while dismissing C.W.P. Nos. 11682 to 11685 of 1994 [Rao Stone Crushing v. State of Haryana [1997] 106 STC 471 (P H)]. It further held that the stone crusher falls in the negative list and, therefore, the petitioner does not qualify for grant of eligibility certificate. In our opinion, the reasons assigned by the LLSC and HLSC are consistent with the provisions of the Rules to which reference has been made hereinabove and we do not find any valid ground to direct issuance of eligibility certificate to the petitioner de hors the provisions of the Rules. No other point has been argued. For the reasons mentioned above, the writ petition is dismissed. Writ petition dismis .....

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