Statutory incentive schemes cannot be denied by adding ownership conditions not found in the notification.

An authority administering a statutory sales tax incentive scheme cannot add eligibility conditions not contained in the notification or scheme. A claim for incentive could not be rejected merely because the industrial unit was set up in rented premises, since the scheme did not require ownership of the land and did not prohibit leasehold occupation. A speculative concern that the unit might not continue for the minimum period was also not a valid threshold ground for refusal, because the scheme itself provided for withdrawal if production stopped prematurely. The application had to be considered strictly in accordance with the scheme and without extraneous considerations.

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Issues: Whether the authorities could refuse consideration of an application for sales tax incentive on the ground that the new industrial unit was established in rented premises, despite no such condition being contained in the notification issued under Section 4 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act.

Analysis: The incentive scheme had to be applied according to its own terms, and the screening committees had no authority to add a new eligibility requirement that the industrial unit must be set up only on self-owned land. The absence of a prohibition against rented or leased premises meant that the authorities could not deny consideration on that basis. The apprehension that a unit in rented premises may not continue for the minimum period was also not a lawful ground to reject the claim at the threshold, because the scheme itself provided for withdrawal of incentive if production stopped before the prescribed period. The refusal was also inconsistent with the principle that decisions under a scheme must be taken only in accordance with the scheme and not on extraneous considerations.

Conclusion: The rejection of the petitioner's application on the ground of rented premises was unlawful, and the authorities were bound to consider the claim in accordance with the scheme without importing additional conditions.

Ratio Decidendi: An authority administering a statutory incentive scheme cannot impose eligibility conditions not found in the notification or scheme, and a claim cannot be rejected at the threshold on extraneous considerations.

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