Delegated legislation cannot override statutory manufacture definition; retrospective exclusion of coal-to-coke conversion was held ultra vires.

Rule 57A of the Assam Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 could not retrospectively exclude conversion of coal into coke from the statutory definition of manufacture under the parent Act. The High Court held that the Act contemplated manufacture as a process resulting in a new and different product, and that coal-to-coke conversion fell within that meaning. Delegated legislation could not amend or override the statute, nor could it retrospectively take away vested or accrued rights without clear legislative authority. The amended rule was therefore ultra vires the Act and beyond the State's rule-making power, while the factual issue concerning the date of establishment and commencement of production was left for departmental determination.

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Issues: Whether rule 57A of the Assam Value Added Tax Rules, 2005, retrospectively excluding conversion of coal to coke from the definition of manufacture was ultra vires section 2(30) of the Assam Value Added Tax Act, 2003, and beyond the rule-making power of the State.

Analysis: The definition of manufacture in the parent Act contemplated a process that brings about a new and different product. Conversion of coal into coke was held to fall within that definition. A delegated rule could not amend or override the statutory definition by excluding an activity that the Act itself treated as manufacture. The Court further held that a subordinate legislation cannot take away vested or accrued rights by retrospective amendment unless the parent Act clearly authorises such operation.

Conclusion: Rule 57A(1), to the extent it excluded conversion of coal to coke from manufacture with retrospective effect, was held to be ultra vires the Act and beyond the rule-making power.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions succeeded on the legal challenge to the amended rule, while the factual question regarding the date of establishment and commencement of production was left to the departmental authority for determination.

Ratio Decidendi: Delegated legislation cannot override the parent statute or retrospectively withdraw a statutory benefit or right unless the enabling Act clearly permits such action.

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