One-time industrial tax exemption cannot be claimed again for successive expansions of the same unit.

A fiscal industrial exemption operating as an incentive was treated as a one-time benefit available to a new unit or to an existing unit only for its expansion or diversification once. Because the petitioner, an old industrial unit, had already obtained the exemption for its expanded/diversified unit, the entitlement was exhausted and could not be revived by a later expansion or a fresh registration number. The wrong notification reference in the certificate and the question of review power did not change that substantive position. The cancellation of the exemption certificate was therefore upheld, and the unit was held not entitled to a second exemption on raw material purchases.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner, an old industrial unit that had already obtained exemption for its expanded/diversified unit, was entitled to a second exemption on purchase of raw materials under Notification No. S.O. 793 dated 10 September 1987, and whether the cancellation of the exemption certificate was lawful.

Analysis: The exemption scheme under the industrial policy resolution and the statutory notifications was intended to operate as an incentive for a specified class of units and for a limited period. The benefit was available either to a newly set up industrial unit or to an existing unit undertaking expansion or diversification, but only once. Since the petitioner was an old unit which had already availed the benefit in respect of its expanded/diversified unit, the entitlement stood exhausted. The fact that a later expansion was approved, or that a new registration number was issued, did not create a fresh and independent right to another exemption. The mention of the wrong notification in the certificate and the question of review power did not alter the substantive position.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to a second exemption on purchase of raw materials, and the cancellation of the exemption certificate was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition failed because the tax exemption scheme could not be claimed repeatedly for successive expansions of the same unit after the benefit had already been exhausted.

Ratio Decidendi: A fiscal exemption granted as an incentive for industrial units is a limited, one-time benefit, and once availed by an eligible unit, the same benefit cannot be claimed again for subsequent expansions or diversifications of the same undertaking.

---