TMI Blog2010 (9) TMI 1243X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t-off of the tax quantified under Section 8(1) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 from the monetary limit of the exemption mentioned in the eligibility certificate granted to the Petitioners under Section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 for the relevant assessment years. In all these writ petitions the interim orders were passed by this Court directing that the benefit of tax exemption granted by notifications dated July 27,1991, March 31, 1995, July 19, 1996 and February 21, 1997, will continue to be available to the Petitioners for the duration contemplated by the notification subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in the notification notwithstanding the withdrawal of those benefits with effect from October 15, 2002 by the State Government, when the Central Sales Tax Act was amended by the Finance Act No. 20 of 2002 on May 30, 2002. 3. In the Commercial Tax Revision No. 1125 of 2008, Swastik Components Private Limited v. Commissioner Commercial Tax, U.P. Lucknow, connected with Commercial Tax Revision Nos. 1126 of 2008 and 1127 of 2008 (of the same company) the court was called upon to decide the question as to whether the applicant-dealer, holding eligibility certif ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ales Tax Act by the Finance Act No. 20 of 2002 with effect from May 13, 2002 will by statutory application amend the notification issued under the unamended Central Sales Tax Act, and since the Act itself has been amended, the principle of promissory estoppel invited by the Petitioner was not attracted. The Department was of the opinion that Section 8(5) has been amended with effect from May 13, 2002 and thus exemption from Central Sales Tax Act after May 13, 2002 can be allowed only on furnishing of forms C and D of the Central Sales Tax Act. 7. In the judgment dated October 24, 2008 deciding Commercial Tax Revision No. 1125 of 2008 with connected Commercial Tax Revision Nos. 1126 of 2008 and 1127 of 2008, one of us (honourable Sunil Ambwani, J.) after considering the questions of law relating to the principle of promissory estoppel held as follows: In this case the State Government granted exemptions under the authority given to it by the Central Act. When the same Central Act qualified these powers by a parliamentary amendment to a particular category of sales in the course of inter-State trade and commerce, it cannot be said that the State Government was required to issue ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The judgment in the State of West Bengal v. N.S. Text Prints Pvt. Ltd. (2009) 20 VST 952 was not on the same set of facts. The principle of promissory estoppel depends upon the circumstances in which the doctrine based on equity is invoked. The Government of West Bengal had issued a notification on August 2, 2002 in general application to all the dealers. This notification was not confined to newly set up industries nor did it prescribe that it was issued in supersession of the earlier notifications. Its application was held to be prospective and that the court found it very difficult to reconcile the two notifications to make the subsequent notification applicable to a case where the exemption was granted. With the introduction of value added tax the whole regime of applicability of sales tax laws have changed. The new laws do not conceive of transactions in inter-State sales with unregistered dealers. The amendments in sales tax laws have to be uniform and that all exemptions have to give way to the new laws. For the aforesaid reasons the sales tax revisions are dismissed. 8. The judgment was challenged by the Assessee in the Supreme Court in S.L.P. (Civil) No. 8395-8397 o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... x on inter-State sale made on or after May 13, 2002 without form C/D at 10 per cent as provided under Section 8(4) of the CST Act, the amount of tax so calculated is liable to be set off from the maximum monetary limit available to the applicant at the beginning of the year. 12. Shri Bharat Ji Agrawal, learned Counsel for the Petitioner, submits that the effect of the amendments in Section 8(5) of the Central Sales Tax Act is on the rate of tax and not on the quantum of the amount covered under the eligibility certificate under Section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act. The payment of higher rate of tax, if forms C/D are not produced on inter-State sales after May 13, 2002, does not affect the set off of such higher rate of tax under the eligibility certificate. 13. Shri Agrawal would submit exemption given to new unit is an incentive linked to the production, if the units satisfy all other conditions. The set-off of the trade tax or Central sales tax is not linked to the rate, which can either vary according to the notifications issued in exercise of statutory powers, or may be allowed on any reduced rate. He would submit that the rate of tax either by way of exemption or otherwi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tax will become violative of Act under Article 301 of the Constitution of India. 16. We, therefore, hold that, whereas the amendments to the Central Sales Tax Act by the Finance Act No. 20 of 2002 published on May 13, 2002, are valid and do not suffer from any vice of discrimination, and also do not violate principle of promissory estoppel qua the Petitioner, the higher rate of tax payable for non-compliance of the amended provisions of Section 8(5) namely non-production of form C/D, cannot be taken to be a ground to deny the set-off of such higher rate of tax from the limits prescribed in the eligibility certificate under Section 4A of the Trade Tax Act, subject to other conditions, namely, the maximum limit for particular year or period and maximum amount for which such exemption is provided. 17. All the writ petitions are partly allowed. The assessing authorities are required to modify the assessment orders accordingly and to allow set-off to the Petitioners, which was earlier denied to them on the rate of tax, without the benefit of reduced rate of tax on the inter-State transactions for which forms C/D were not produced. The required modification shall be carried out wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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