Industrial exemption claims cannot be rejected for minor delay or curable certification defects without a fair chance to rectify them.

Under an industrial sales tax exemption scheme, a slight delay in filing the exemption application was not treated as an automatic ground for refusal, because rigid insistence on time limits would frustrate the policy objective. The Court also held that rejection for an incomplete Director of Industries certificate was improper without first giving the applicant a reasonable opportunity to cure the defect. In the absence of clear government guidelines, certification could be worked out with reference to the Central Government registration certificate for medium and large industries. The rejection orders were quashed and the matters remitted for fresh consideration after allowing defect correction.

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Issues: (i) whether a slight delay in filing the application for sales tax exemption could by itself justify rejection; and (ii) whether the application could be rejected for want of a complete certificate from the Director of Industries without first giving the applicant an opportunity to remove defects.

Issue (i): whether a slight delay in filing the application for sales tax exemption could by itself justify rejection.

Analysis: The exemption was part of an industrial incentive policy intended to promote development of industries. The delay was only of a few days, and the Court held that rigid insistence on the stipulated time, without examining whether the delay would in fact defeat the policy or cause misuse, would frustrate the object of the scheme. Delay, by itself, was not treated as an automatic ground for refusal.

Conclusion: The delay could not by itself be a sufficient ground to reject the exemption application.

Issue (ii): whether the application could be rejected for want of a complete certificate from the Director of Industries without first giving the applicant an opportunity to remove defects.

Analysis: The certificate requirement was treated as a condition of the exemption scheme, but the Court held that where the application did not fully comply, the authority should first call upon the applicant to cure the deficiency. Rejection without adequate opportunity was held to be improper. The Court also indicated that, in the absence of clear governmental guidelines, certification could be worked out on the basis of the Central Government registration certificate for medium and large industries.

Conclusion: The application could not be rejected straightaway for defective certification without giving an opportunity to remove the defects.

Final Conclusion: The rejection orders were quashed and the matters were sent back for fresh consideration after giving the applicant an opportunity to cure the deficiencies.

Ratio Decidendi: Under an exemption scheme meant to advance industrial policy, a minor delay or curable defect in supporting certification does not warrant rejection without first affording a reasonable opportunity to explain the delay or remove the deficiency.

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