Tax deferment arises only after eligibility and entitlement certificates are issued, not merely when the application is filed.

Deferment of sales tax under the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules became available only after issuance of the eligibility certificate, voucher and entitlement certificate, together with compliance with the prescribed conditions. Mere filing of an application or initial satisfaction of eligibility criteria did not create an automatic right to retrospective deferment from the date of application. Where the industrial unit had not completed required formalities, including execution of a mortgage deed or furnishing a bank guarantee, no entitlement arose, and delay in processing the application did not by itself confer retrospective benefit.

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Issues: Whether an eligible industrial unit was entitled, as a matter of right, to have the eligibility certificate for deferment of sales tax issued from the date of its application, notwithstanding that the certificate and consequential formalities were completed later.

Analysis: Rule 17-I of the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975 made deferment admissible only after the grant of the eligibility certificate, the voucher and the entitlement certificate, and after compliance with the stipulated conditions. Mere fulfillment of the prescribed conditions did not create an automatic right to deferment from the date of application. On the facts, the unit had not complied with the requirements demanded by the authority, including execution of the mortgage deed or furnishing of the bank guarantee, and no violation of the Act or the Rules was shown. The delay in disposal of the application did not, by itself, confer a retrospective entitlement.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to issuance of the eligibility certificate with effect from the date of application, and the claim for deferment from 1987-88 to 1993-94 failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Deferment of tax under the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules became available only on issuance of the eligibility and entitlement certificates and compliance with the prescribed conditions, and not merely on filing an application or satisfying the initial eligibility requirements.

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