Writ jurisdiction and tax refund claims: factual eligibility conditions must be decided by authorities before refund is ordered.

A writ petition seeking immediate refund of sales tax and entry tax could not be granted where the eligibility certificate for tax exemption contained express conditions whose applicability depended on disputed facts. The High Court held that such factual questions could not be finally examined in writ jurisdiction without adequate material. However, because the refund applications had remained pending for a long period, the authorities were required to take a final decision on them. The operative relief was limited to a mandamus directing the State authorities to decide the pending refund claims within the stipulated time, rather than ordering direct refund.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled, in the writ jurisdiction, to an directing immediate refund of sales tax and entry tax, or whether the refund claim required prior decision by the competent authorities on the factual conditions attached to the eligibility certificate.

Analysis: The eligibility certificate granted for sales tax exemption contained express exceptions, and the applicability of those conditions turned on questions of fact. Such factual determination could not be undertaken in the writ petition in the absence of sufficient material. At the same time, the petitioner's refund applications had remained undecided for a long period, and the competent authorities were bound to take a final decision on them.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not granted direct refund in writ proceedings, but was entitled to a writ of mandamus requiring the State authorities to decide the pending refund applications for sales tax and entry tax within the stipulated time.

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