Assessment-year turnover governs exemption under trade tax law; base production is deducted, not calculated stage-wise.

For exemption under section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, the entitlement is computed with reference to the turnover of the full assessment year, treated as a twelve-month period ending on 31 March, after deducting the base production fixed under the scheme. The statutory notification was read to grant exemption on goods produced in excess of that base during the assessment year, rather than on a stage-wise basis from the date the base production is first achieved. Applying the binding apex court view, the dealer is entitled to exemption on assessment-year turnover minus base production, and the contrary Tribunal view was held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether, for exemption under section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, the dealer is entitled to exemption on the turnover of the assessment year minus the base production or only on the goods produced after the base production is achieved.

Analysis: The relevant notification and the statutory scheme were read to mean that the exemption facility is available on the turnover of goods in an assessment year in excess of the quantity fixed as base production. The expression "assessment year" was treated as a full twelve-month period ending on 31 March. Applying the binding view already taken by the apex court, the entitlement to exemption depends on the sale turnover during the assessment year after deducting the base production determined under the Act, and not on a stage-wise production calculation from the date the base production is first reached.

Conclusion: The dealer is entitled to claim exemption on the turnover of the assessment year minus the base production, and the contrary view taken by the Tribunal is unsustainable.

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