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TMI Blog1986 (12) TMI 37X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... G. Viswanatha Iyer, Senior Advocates (S. Balakrishnan and Ramesh N. Keshwani, Advocates, with them), for the appellants in some appeals. [Judgment per : Ranganath Misra, J.]. - All these appeals are by special leave and are directed against judgments rendered by the Kerala High Court in Writ Petitions filed before it. The High Court in each case refused to grant relief. 2. Two Notifications/Orders issued by the State Government are relevant. The first one is dated 11-4-1979 and the second is dated 29-9-1980 which was published in the State Gazette on 21-10-1980. For convenience, the texts of the two Notifications/Orders are extracted below : "Order dated 11-4-1979 : The incentives now given to the industries in the State are too ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... od of five years from the date of production.... 5. The relevant portion of the second notification reads thus : "In exercise of the power conferred by section 10 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act (15 of 1963) the Government of Kerala have considered it necessary in the public interest so told, hereby make an exemption in respect of the tax payable under the said Act on the turnover of the sale of goods produced and sold by the new industrial units under the small-scale industries for a period of five years from the date of commencement of sale of such goods by the said units subject to the conditions that if the tax collected by any such units by way of tax on their sales shall be said over to Government and that the sales tax, i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... turnover. (2) Any exemption from tax, or reduction in the rate of tax, notified under sub-section (1); (a) may extend to the whole State or to any specified area or areas therein; (b) may be subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be specified in the notification; (3) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, cancel or vary any notification issued under sub-section (1)." It may be possible to contend with plausibility that in the absence of an enabling provision in the statute the State Government would not have the power to give up a part of the tax due to the State and there can be no estoppel against statute. But that question does not arise here because we have Section 10 empowering the State Government to gra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he State of Kerala, they would certainly be entitled to plead the rule of estoppel in their favour when the State of Kerala purports to act differently. Several decisions of this Court were cited in support of the stand of the appellants that in similar circumstances the plea of estoppel can be and has been applied and the leading authority on this point is the case of M.P. Sugar Mills - 1979 (2) SCC 409. On the other hand, reliance has been placed on behalf of the State on a judgment of this Court in Bakul Cashew Co. v. Sales Tax Officer, Quilon - 1986 (2) SCC 365. In Bakul Company's (supra) case this Court found : "That there was no clear material to show any definite or certain promise had been made by the Minister to the concerned pers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ries set up after 21-10-1980 obviously would not be entitled to that benefit as they had noticed of the curtailment in the exemption before they came to set up their industries. 10. In the course of hearing and in the written submissions furnished on behalf of the State it was contended that the question as to which of the appellants are entitled to the benefit should be left to the Sales Tax Authorities to decide. We are of the view that once the law is settled, that part of the decision may be left to the Departmental authorities and they may decide the question on merits in appropriate proceeding in accordance with the law laid down in this judgment. 11. Each of the appeals is allowed. Parties are directed to bear their own ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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