- (1.) The present writ petition arises out of proceeding under a little known statute namely Textile Committee (Cess) Act, 1963 and is directed against the order passed by the Textile Committee, Cess, Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai whereby the order passed by the Assessing Officer, Textile Committee, New Delhi demanding Textile Cess from the petitioner has been confirmed.
(2.) The petitioner is engaged in the business of bleaching, dyeing and processing of 100 per cent man-made cloths/fabrics, said to have been supplied to them from Power Loom Industries only. The petitioner is also indulged in the trading of some part of fabrics processed by them on its own kind. The case of the petitioner is that the job work undertaken by them is not a process of manufacturing textile. Therefore, they are not liable to pay any cess under the Textiles Committee Act, a central legislation, being Act No.41 of 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). For the Assessment Years 1997-1998 to 2000-2001 the Assessing Officer issued demand notices dated 21st of November, 2011 asking the petitioner to pay the cess amounting to Rs.2,68,293/- for the aforesaid four assessment years. The matter was carried in appeal unsuccessfully before the Textile Committee, Cess, Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai. Hence the present writ petition.
(3.) The ground of challenge in the writ petition is that the activity of the petitioner is exempted from payment of cess under the proviso to section 5-A of the Act.;