TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1990 (2) TMI 292
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....icles 226 and 227 of the Constitution against the Steel Authority of India Limited (opposite party No. 1), its Branch Manager (opposite party No. 2), the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (opposite party No. 3), the Commercial Tax Officer, II Circle, Bhubaneswar (opposite party No. 4), the Commercial Tax Officer, I Circle, Bhubaneswar (opposite party No. 5) and the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Bhubaneswar (opposite party No. 6) with the prayer to direct the opposite parties 1 and 2 to refund Rs. 18,000 collected from the petitioner towards sales tax for the transactions during the months of April, May and June, 1988 and to restrain the said opposite parties from collecting any sum towards sales tax on sale/ purchase of raw mate....
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....00 has been retained by opposite party No. 1 towards sales tax on sale/purchase of raw materials during the months of April, May and June, 1988. In these circumstances, the petitioner filed the writ application seeking the reliefs noticed earlier. 3.. The opposite parties Nos. 3 to 5 in their return took the stand, inter alia, that the period of five years during which the petitioner was entitled to enjoy exemption from sales tax was to commence from 5th June, 1982, when the provisional registration certificate No. 2944/DICP was issued to it by the District Industries Centre, Puri (annexures C-1 and C-2). It is the further case of the said opposite parties that on the basis of the provisional registration certificate the Orissa State Fina....
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....l, 1976). For proper appreciation item 26-A is quoted hereunder: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sl. Description of goods Conditions and excepDate of No. tions subject to which effect exemption has been allowed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26-A Purchase or sale of- (a) raw materials, that is to say, The exemption shall 1-8-80 goods which directly go into be allowed for a period the composition of the of five years from the finished products; date of certification of ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 --------....
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......". The point for consideration is what was intended to be the period during which the facility of exemption from tax was to be enjoyed; was it from the date of issue of provisional certificate or from the date the industrial unit went into commercial production? The difficulty arises because the language used in item 26-A is not specific, it merely states that from the date of certification of the unit by the Director of Industries. It is, therefore, necessary to consider the intent and purpose of the provision. Since the matter relates to exemption from sales tax to industrial units in pursuance of the policy decision of the Government, it will be helpful to note how it has been put in the policy decision. Therein it is stated "new villa....