Plain meaning governs exemption notification scope for ethyl alcohol manufacturers using molasses as input

Manufacturers of ethyl alcohol from molasses were held not to fall within entry 10 of the negative list in the 11 February 1994 notification, because the phrase "ethanol (ethyl alcohol) based industries" was construed to mean industries using ethyl alcohol as an input after manufacture, not industries producing it. The exception for "non-molasses alcohol industries" was read as limited to carving out that category from the main clause and not as expanding the entry to cover molasses-based manufacturers. The plain language of the notification controlled, and a later notification could not override the unambiguous earlier text. Such manufacturers therefore remained eligible to claim exemption under rule 28A.

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Issues: Whether manufacturers of ethyl alcohol from molasses fall within entry 10 of the negative list in the notification dated 11 February 1994 so as to be denied exemption from sales tax under rule 28A of the Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975.

Analysis: The entry, read as a whole, was held to be a single clause in which the words "ethanol (ethyl alcohol) based industries" refer to industries whose main input is ethanol or ethyl alcohol, i.e. industries using ethyl alcohol as an input after its manufacture, and not industries engaged in manufacturing ethyl alcohol itself. The exception "except non-molasses alcohol industries" was construed as carving out only non-molasses alcohol industries from the main clause, not as enlarging the entry to include molasses-based manufacturers. The Court applied the plain and ordinary meaning of the language used, held that the intention of the State could not override clear wording, and found that a subsequent notification could not control an unambiguous earlier entry.

Conclusion: Manufacturers of ethyl alcohol from molasses do not fall within entry 10 and are not disentitled from claiming exemption under rule 28A.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption notification must be construed on the plain and unambiguous language used, and a proviso or exception cannot be read to enlarge the main clause beyond its express terms.

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