Bharucha, J. - (1.) Civil Appeals Nos. 5418-5420 of 1997. We are called upon to interpret a notification (499/90) issued under the provisions of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. The relevant portion thereof reads thus :"............... the Government of Kerala having considered it necessary in the public interest so to do hereby make an exemption in respect of the tax payable under the said Act by new industrial units under the Small Scale Industries and by such of the existing industrial units which effect diversification, expansion, modernisation on the turnover of sales of goods manufactured and sold by such units and on the turnover of goods taxable at the point of last purchase in the State and used by such units in the manufacture of goods intended for sale within the State of inter State.........'
(2.) The Kerala Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal opined that the notification contemplates exemption only on the turnover of goods taxable at the point of last purchase in the State and used by such units in the manufacture of goods within the State. It is an undisputed fact that the copper scrap is not goods taxable at the point of last purchase in the State .............. What has been given exemption in SRO 499/9 (sic) is turnover of goods taxable at the point of last purchase in the State. The goods taxable at the point of last purchase are specifically enumerated in the last schedule of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, such as Pepper, Dry Ginger, Arecanut, Rubber etc. the turnover under Section 5A is not mentioned in this notification. It is a well settled law that the primary object of a Sales-tax statutes is to fetch the tax and giving exemption is only a concession of the Government, and so, the exemption notification has to be strictly interpreted.
(3.) The High Court of Kerala, in the judgment and order under appeal, has taken no notice of the words of the notification that make it applicable to the turnover of goods taxable at the point of last purchase in the State.;