Statutory date of production under incentive law determined eligibility for tax benefit and certificate issuance.

A new industrial unit was held to have started production within the statutory meaning of Explanation (3) to section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act before the cut-off date, because the evidence showed land purchase, construction, raw material procurement and generator installation were completed by 31 March 1995. The court treated the relevant date as the artificial statutory date of starting production, not the date of actual commercial output. As the factual record satisfied the statutory conditions, the assessee was entitled to the incentive notification and issuance of the eligibility certificate, and the Tribunal's contrary view rested on an erroneous understanding of the production date.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to an eligibility certificate and the benefit of the incentive notification on the basis that its unit had started production within the meaning of Explanation (3) to section 4A of the U.P. Trade Tax Act before 31 March 1995.

Analysis: The unit had purchased land in 1993, completed construction in 1994, purchased raw material before 31 March 1995, and had generators at the site before that date, as supported by the survey report and the certificate of the Assistant Director, Electricity Safety Department. For a new unit, the relevant date is the artificial date of starting production under Explanation (3), not the actual commercial production date. On the evidence, the statutory conditions were satisfied before the cut-off date, and the contrary view taken by the Tribunal proceeded on an erroneous understanding of the production date.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the benefit of the notification and to issuance of the eligibility certificate.

---