Sales tax incentive conditions and prior permission requirements can defeat eligibility when delay and non-compliance are not explained.

Entitlement under a Sales Tax Incentive Scheme can be refused where the application is filed belatedly without any plea for condonation of delay and the delay remains unsupported by evidence. The petitioner also failed to obtain the prior permission expressly required under the land conversion condition before commencing industrial activity on leased land. Since incentive eligibility depended on strict compliance with the scheme conditions and the conversion order, the authorities' rejection was sustained. The cited precedents were distinguished because they did not involve an express prior-permission requirement or the same factual basis for denial.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to benefit under the Sales Tax Incentive Scheme despite delay in filing the application and without obtaining the prior permission required for conversion and use of the leased industrial land.

Analysis: The application was filed belatedly and no application for condonation of delay was made. The explanation for delay was unsupported by evidence. The land had been converted subject to a clear stipulation that prior permission from the competent authority was necessary before commencing the industrial activity, but such permission was not obtained. The entitlement to the incentive depended on compliance with the scheme conditions and the conversion order. The cited precedents were distinguished because the present case involved an express prior-permission requirement and a reasoned factual rejection by the authorities.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to the claimed benefit and the rejection of the application was upheld.

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