G. B. Pattanaik, J. - (1.) Leave granted in Special Leave Petitions which have been tagged on to the Civil Appeals.
(2.) In these appeals, the judgment of the Division Bench of Patna High Court in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case Nos. 7063, 7068 and 7467 of 1994 and the other judgments following the same are under challenge. The short question for consideration is whether the Industrial Units which have started production prior to 1-4-93 and whose investment on plant and machinery do not exceed Rs. 15 crores on 1-4-93 would be entitled to the facilities of sales tax exemption on the purchase of raw material for a period of seven years from 1-4-93 in accordance with Clause 10.4(i)(b) of the Industrial Incentive Policy, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Industrial Policy) and whether the notification issued by the Government of Bihar dated 2nd of April, 1994 in exercise of power under Section 7 of the Bihar Finance Act to the extent it indicates "who has not availed of any facility or benefit under any Industrial Promotion Policy" is invalid as being contrary to the Policy Resolution of 1993. The High Court by the impugned judgment came to the conclusion that the old industrial units whose investment of plant and machinery did not exceed Rs. 15 crores on 1-4-93 would be entitled to the sales tax exemption on the purchase of raw material for a period of seven years from 1-4-93 as provided under Clause 10.4(i)(b) of the Industrial Policy of 1993. Examining the notification dated 2nd of April, 1994, issued by the Government of Bihar in exercise of power conferred by Clause (b) of sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Bihar Finance Act, 1981, the High Court further came to the conclusion that the notification so far as it imposes a condition that the facility of sales tax exemption on purchase of raw material will be available only to those industrial units who have not availed of any facility/benefit on the earlier incentive policy is bad and struck down that part of the notification.
(3.) It is not necessary to state the facts in detail. Suffice it to say that the State of Bihar with the object of accelerating the industrial progress in the State have been declaring the industrial policies from time to time and prior to 1993 Policy, had announced the Policy on 1-9-86. Being of the opinion that the incentives given under 1986 Policy have not achieved the desired industrial progress in all the Districts of the State and to achieve balanced industrial growth in a planned manner, the industrial incentives require new dimensions, the State Government introduced the new Industrial Policy of 1993. Clause 10.4(i)(b) of the Policy deals with the facility of sales tax exemption on the purchase of raw material with which provision we are concerned in the present appeals. There is no dispute that the respondents in each of these appeals are old industrial units which have come into production prior to 1-4-93 but whose investment on plant and machinery did not exceed Rs. 15 crores on 1-4-93. The State Government after introducing the new Industrial Policy of 1993, issued the exemption notification of 4th of April, 1994 in exercise of the power under Section 7 of the Bihar Finance Act under which the old industrial units like the respondents who had started production prior to 1-4-93 but whose investment on plant and machinery did not exceed Rs. 15 crores on 1-4-93 were denied the facility of sales tax exemption on the purchase of raw materials as those units had availed of some facilities under the prior Policy of 1986. Being aggrieved by the said notification, the respondents approached the High Court of Patna for quashing the said notification dated 4th of April, 1994 to the extent it makes the old industrial units of the respondents ineligible for the facility of sales tax exemption on purchase of raw materials and for a direction to the State of Bihar to extend the facility to such old units of sales tax exemption on raw materials in terms of Clause 10.4(i)(b) of the Policy Resolution of 1993. Those writ petitions having been allowed, as stated earlier, the State has preferred these appeals.;