Turnover-based renewal conditions cannot be applied to a dealer's pre-licence period when licence was granted only months earlier.

Rule 3(ee) of the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969 could not be applied to refuse renewal of a dealer's licence on the basis of turnover from a period when the dealer had not yet been licensed. Because the licence was granted only a few months earlier, turnover before the grant of the licence could not be attributed to the dealer, and the Department's truncated four-month assessment was not supported by the rule. The refusal to renew was therefore unsustainable in law, and the renewal application had to be reconsidered without reference to Rule 3(ee).

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Issues: Whether the renewal of a gold dealer's licence could be ed by applying the turnover requirement in Rule 3(ee) of the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969 to a dealer whose licence had been issued only a few months earlier.

Analysis: Rule 3(ee) requires consideration of turnover during the preceding thirty-six months ending on 31st October. The appellants had obtained the licence only in June 1982 and, before the grant of the licence, they could not have carried on gold dealer's business. In these circumstances, turnover for the period prior to grant of licence could not be attributed to them, and the truncated four-month period adopted by the Department was not supported by the rule. The authorities below therefore misapplied the rule and erred in law in refusing renewal.

Conclusion: The refusal to renew the licence was not sustainable, and the renewal application had to be considered without reference to Rule 3(ee).

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