General sales tax exemption for new industrial units limits revisional interference where assessment followed the law then in force.

A statutory exemption for goods produced by a specified new industrial unit was treated as a general exemption for the covered class of goods, so it fell within section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act and supported the tax benefit under the State notification. The text also explains that revisional interference under section 31(1) of the State Act requires an assessment to be both erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue. Where the assessing authority acted on the law prevailing at the time, a later or different interpretation could not by itself justify reopening or cancelling the assessment.

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Issues: Whether the goods produced by a new industrial unit were entitled to exemption from sales tax under section 3B of the State Act and section 8(2A) of the Central Act read with the notification, and whether the revisional authority could cancel the assessment under section 31(1) of the State Act.

Analysis: The exemption under section 3B of the Assam Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1956 applied to sale of goods produced by specified new industrial units for the prescribed period, and the notification issued to give effect to that policy confirmed the benefit for such goods. The exemption was, therefore, treated as a general exemption for the class of goods produced by the new industrial unit and not as a mere conditional concession falling outside section 8(2A) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The assessment had been made in accordance with the law prevailing at the relevant time, and the revisional authority could not invoke section 31(1) merely because of a different later view or on an incorrect assumption that the assessment was prejudicial to the Revenue.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the benefit of exemption, and the revisional order cancelling the assessment was unsustainable.

Issue: Whether the revisional power under section 31(1) of the State Act was validly exercised to reopen the assessment.

Analysis: Revisional interference requires that the assessment order be both erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the Revenue. On the material available at the time the assessment was made, the applicable legal position supported the exemption granted to the new industrial unit. Since the assessing authority had acted on the law then in force, the subsequent revision could not be justified as a corrective of legal error.

Conclusion: The exercise of revisional power was not justified and the cancellation of the assessment was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The writ appeal failed, and the order upholding the assessee's tax exemption and quashing the revisional interference was maintained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory exemption for a new industrial unit is general in nature and was correctly applied under the law prevailing at the time of assessment, the revisional authority cannot reopen the assessment merely because of a later or different interpretation of the taxing provision.

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