P.C.BANERJI - (1.) THIS is an application under section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987, filed by Dr. S. D. Debnath Homeopathic Laboratory (P) Ltd. and is directed against the order dated 28th June, 1989, of the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal, rejecting the revisional application for the issue of eligibility certificate as provided under section 4aa of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954.
(2.) THE case of the applicant may be briefly stated as follows : The applicant started business on 29th April, 1979, in the line of "homeopathic patent medicine" and was granted a licence dated 19th March, 1981, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. It also obtained a certificate of permanent registration dated 20th July, 1982, from the Directorate of Cottage and Small Scale Industries. The applicant started manufacture of hair-oil under the brand name of Jaborandi hair-oil and Livasol homeopathic patent medicine with effect from 4th September, 1981. Its chief business place is situated at Calcutta bus stand, Howrah sub-way, Howrah-1 and its manufacturing unit is situated at premises No. 2, Sachindra Nath Road, Uttarpara, Hooghly. The applicant approached the Cottage and Small Scale Industries Directorate for inclusion of the factory premises at No. 2, Sachindra Nath Road, Uttarpara, Hooghly, in the registration certificate issued by the said Directorate, but the concerned authorities delayed amending the said certificate. The said inclusion was actually made on 18th August, 1984, along with hair-oil and livasol as items of manufacturing/processing. On 23rd March, 1983, the applicant wrongly approached the Commercial Tax Officer for registration under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941. On the advice of the said Commercial Tax Officer it approached him later for registration under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954. On 3rd October, 1983, the applicant was granted registration under the said Act for manufacturing hair-oil and livasol. Thereafter on 4th October, 1983, the dealer made an application for eligibility certificate under the 1954 Act. On 17th September, 1984, the Assistant Commissioner rejected the said application. A revisional application against the said order was also rejected by the Additional Commissioner on 28th June, 1989. The Assistant Commissioner rejected the application for eligibility certificate on the ground that it was barred by limitation as also that the unit was not a newly set up small-scale industry but was actually an expansion or addition or modification of an existing industrial unit, which was started earlier in a different place for potentiation of homeopathic medicine. The Additional Commissioner in his revisional order did not consider limitation as a valid ground for rejection but accepted the finding of the Assistant Commissioner that the unit was an expansion, addition and modification of the existing industrial unit engaged in potentiation of homeopathic medicines, which is a manufacturing activity.
(3.) THE applicant's contention is that though it commenced business on and from 29th April, 1979, it actually started manufacturing notified commodities, viz. , "hair-oil" and "livasol" on and from 4th September, 1981 and prior to that it was only a reseller of homeopathic and ayurvedic medicines. It claimed that its entire pre-registration turnover from 29th April, 1979 to 3rd September, 1981 consisted of reselling of potentised homeopathic medicines, which were not taxable and that its liability to pay tax arose from 4th September, 1981, when it effected the first sale of hair-oil. It relied on the assessment order from the relevant period to support its claim.;