TMI Blog2008 (6) TMI 551X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... acts and circumstances of this case, could not have initiated any proceedings for revising an order of assessment passed by the assessing authority for the two assessment years in question. Since we are granting relief to the petitioner on the first issue itself, we need not have to consider the other issues canvassed by the learned senior counsel, Sri Joseph Vellappally. In that view of the matter, the revision petitions requires to be allowed and the questions of law framed by the assessee require to be answered in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue. - - - - - Dated:- 16-6-2008 - DATTU H.L. C.J. AND BASHEER A.K. , JJ. ORDER:- The order of the court was made by H.L. DATTU C.J. Pursuant to the direction issued by the apex court in Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No. 12914 of 2007 dated April 7, 2008, to dispose of these revision petitions within two months, though the petitions are of the year 2007, they are taken up for final hearing and disposed of by this common order. The assessee is common in these two revision petitions, and the legal issue raised is also identical. The assessee is a public limited company. It is engaged in the manufacture a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e for sales tax exemption under the notifications cited are granted sales tax exemption subject to the following conditions stipulated in the said notifications as per details given below: 6. Registration Certificate Number (a) under the KGST Act : 21010510 (b) under the CST Act : 21015510 7. Address of the registered office of the Company : Cochin Cements Ltd., XIV.180, Old Road, Kodimatha, Kottayam. 8. Address of the factory : News Print Nagar, Mavelloor PO, Kottayam District. 9. Category of the unit : Medium/Large 10. Annual installed capacity of the unit as certified by DIC : 1,65,000 MT Sd/Secretary (Taxes) II. Exemption is in respect of goods, viz., Portland Pozzalona cement and the per ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Central Excise, Raipur v. Hira Cement [2006] 145 STC 264 the honourable Supreme Court held that exemption was not applicable if goods are manufactured with 'brand name' or 'trade name' of another. Since you were manufacturing and selling cement in the brand name of ACC Ltd., you were not entitled for exemption during the above period. Thus the assessments already completed giving exemption to tax were prejudicial to the revenue. It is therefore proposed to cancel the assessments for the year 1999-2000 and 2000-01 under section 35 of the KGST Act and remit back the case to the assessing authority for fresh disposal. Your objections if any to the above proposal, shall be filed within 7 days of receipt of this notice. You are also given an opportunity of being heard in person at 11 a.m. on any working day within the above time-limit in my office at Collectorate building, Kottayam . The reason for which the revising authority intended to revise the orders of assessment passed by the assessing authority was that the assessee was granted exemption from payment of sales tax under section 5 of the Act for the manufacture and sale of Portland Pozzalona cement und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eputy Commissioner. (c) Regarding the contention of the petitioner that it could not collect tax on account of exemption ordered by the Secretary, Board of Revenue (Taxes) and therefore the cancellation of exemption is illegal, it was held that the whole issue arose due to the use of the brand name ACC from June 1, 1999 and therefore, the appellant is fully responsible for the consequence. (d) Though not in issue in the appeals filed before the Tribunal it went further and directed the assessing authority to examine whether there was actual use of fly ash after June 1, 1999. Aggrieved by the orders so passed by the Tribunal, the assessee is before us in these tax revision petitions. The assessee has framed the following questions of law for our consideration and decision. They are as under: (i) Is not the Tribunal's finding that the exemption granted to the petitioner as per annexure IV order was for manufacture and sale of Portland Pozzalona Cement under the brand name 'Cochin Cements' only, perverse and patently contrary to the records? (ii) Was the Tribunal justified in law in applying the decision of the honourable Supreme Court in Hira Cement's ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nulled by this court. Sri Vinod Chandran, learned counsel appearing for the Revenue sought to justify the impugned order. According to the learned counsel since the assessee is using the brand name of ACC Cements may be with the permission of the Associated Cement Company the assessee cannot be a manufacturer of cement and therefore it is not entitled to exemption. Therefore according to the learned counsel, the revising authority is justified in invoking the suo motu revisional powers to revise the order passed by the assessing authority. The one and the only question that arises for consideration and decision is, whether the revising authority, viz., the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes and the Tribunal were justified in setting aside the orders of assessment passed by the assessing authority for the assessment years in question, who had simply followed the eligibility certificate issued by the Director of Industries and Commerce and the order of exemption from payment of tax passed by the Secretary, Board of Revenue (Taxes). The Central Government by its circular dated September, 1991, taking into consideration the environmental impact of fly ash if it is not dis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... case may be, of goods by such industrial units, subject to certain conditions. Clause 10 of the notification provides conditions and restrictions for taking benefit under the notification. Clause 10(b) of S.R.O. No. 1729/93 applies to the petitioner/assessee. The industry, in order to avail exemption from payment of sales tax, firstly has to approach the Director of Industries and Commerce by filing an appropriate application for grant of eligibility certificate. In the instant case, it is not in dispute nor it can be disputed that the petitioner industry had approached the Director of Industries and Commerce for issuance of an eligibility certificate. After obtaining such a certificate, the industry had also filed an application before the Secretary, Board of Revenue (Taxes), Thiruvananthapuram, to pass an order of exemption from payment of sales tax under section 5 of the KGST Act. Taking into consideration the certificate so issued by the Director of Industries and Commerce, the Secretary of Board of Revenue (Taxes) had issued an order of exemption which is available to the petitioner-industry for a period of 10 years with effect from October 14, 1995. The assessing authority ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cement using fly ash which is generated in the State as raw material. The other conditions which are to be followed by the petitioner-industrial unit to have the benefit of the Notification S.R.O. No. 388/96 is that, it shall apply for an eligibility certificate from the Director of Industries and Commerce and obtain exemption from the Secretary of the Board of Revenue (Taxes), Thiruvananthapuram. A careful reading of the words employed in Notification No. 388/96 would not leave any manner of doubt as to the purpose of interpretation/construction of the notification. It is well-settled principles of rules of interpretation that every word used by the authority granting exemption by issuing notification has its own importance and the courts should not normally add something which the authority granting exemption never intended while issuing the notification. The State Government while issuing notification in exercise of the powers under the Act, has used the words hereby make an exemption in respect of the tax payable under section 5 of the KGST Act by industrial units manufacturing cement using 'fly ash' generated in the State as a raw material . Under the notificati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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