Eligibility certificate renewal cannot be refused on later closure when statutory conditions were satisfied during the relevant period.

Rule 3(66) of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941 permits grant and renewal of an eligibility certificate for a newly set up small-scale industry only for the period and conditions stated in the rule. Renewal cannot be refused on the basis of closure of the industrial unit or other later events unless a disqualifying circumstance is shown to have arisen during the relevant period. The decisive question is whether the dealer satisfied the statutory conditions when renewal was sought; subsequent closure does not retrospectively defeat earlier entitlement. Refusal founded on extraneous post-period considerations is inconsistent with the rule and unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether renewal of an eligibility certificate under rule 3(66) of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941 could be refused for a relevant period on the basis of subsequent closure of the industrial unit and other post-period circumstances, and whether such refusal could rest on considerations not occurring during the period for which renewal was sought.

Analysis: Rule 3(66) grants a tax incentive to a newly set up small-scale industry for a specified period, subject to stated conditions. The rule contemplates grant, renewal, and invalidation of the eligibility certificate on grounds specifically mentioned in the rule, and the disqualification operates from the date it arises. The decisive question is whether the dealer satisfied the conditions during the relevant period; later closure of the unit does not by itself retroactively destroy entitlement for an earlier period. Refusal based on subsequent closure, without a finding that any disqualifying act occurred during the relevant period, imports extraneous considerations into the statutory scheme.

Conclusion: The renewal could not be refused on the basis of subsequent closure or other extraneous matters, and the impugned orders were unsustainable.

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