Ajit Kumar Sengupta, J. - (1.) The petitioner is a private limited company. The petitioner is manufacturer of hand signal lamps, buffer lamps, tail lamps, side lamps, slide doors, wall protectors (aluminium) and other railway carnage fittings and also of tin containers. The said manufactured goods are sold to the railway authorities as per their specification as Well as also other customers. The petitioner is the manufacturer of the said goods since its inception in 1949. It has also been stated that the raw materials which were and are required for use directly in the manufacture of the said goods are, amongst others, as follows : Metal sheets, hollow wares, enamel wares, brass, copper, lead, zinc and bronze materials.
(2.) In compliance with the provisions of Section 4 of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), the petitioner made an application under Section 7 of the said Act for registration of the goods for manufacturing purpose in order to get benefit of concessional rate of tax and also exemption from payment of sales tax on the purchase of the said raw materials. The registration certificate in form No. IIA being No. PG/ 899A was issued to the petitioner on 5th July, 1949, by the Commercial Tax Officer, 24-Parganas Charge, and thereafter a duplicate copy of the registration certificate dated 5th July, 1949, was issued on 21st November, 1968, by the Commercial Tax Officer in lieu of PG/899 containing the raw materials on which the rate of tax would be applicable which is specified in Section 5(1)(bb) of the said Act. Since the date of the said registration granted to the petitioner, the petitioner is regularly assessed by the Commercial Tax Officer, 24-Parganas, and now by respondent No. 1. The petitioner being a registered dealer was ail along getting the benefit of concessional rate of tax under Section 5(1)(bb) of the said Act on the purchase of the raw materials as specified in the said registration certificate which were used in the manufacture of goods. The petitioner is also a registered dealer under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, valid from 1st July, 1957. The accounts maintained by the petitioner commencing from the 1st day of April, and ending on the 31st March, of each year. In the said registration certificate, the goods and/or materials, viz., all sorts of metal sheet cases, hollow wares, enamel wares, all sorts of brass, copper, lead, zinc, bronze materials, are specified for use in the manufacture in order to get benefit under Section 8(1) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Since the registration certificate granted to the petitioner in the year 1949, the petitioner is regularly assessed under the said Act on the taxable turnover of the sale of the said manufactured goods and up to the period for the four quarters ending 31st March, 1978, the assessments were completed. The sales tax was determined by the assessing authorities including respondent No. 1 on the turnover of the said manufactured goods sold to the railway authorities and other customers. The deductions in respect of the said manufactured goods sold to the registered dealer were allowed up to the said periods and the concessional rate of tax was allowed on the basis of the declaration forms produced by the petitioner in respect of the sale of the said manufactured goods to the registered dealer. Similarly purchases of raw materials were made from the registered dealers without payment of sales tax and/or payment of sales tax at a concessional rate prescribed in Section 5(1)(bb) of the said Act, against the declaration forms supplied by the petitioner as a registered dealer to the said selling registered dealer. The said declaration forms were issued by respondent No. 1 up to the date of 21st May, 1980, against the purchases made by the petitioner from time to time. The purchase of raw materials for using in the manufacture of goods as aforesaid and the declaration forms issued by respondent No. 1 against the purchase of raw materials in terms of Rule 27AA of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941, were never disputed by the respondent concerned including respondent No. 1 up to the date of completion of assessment on 8th March, 1982, for the period of 4 quarters ending on 31st March, 1978. The petitioner regularly obtained the requisite number of declaration forms from the Commercial Tax Officer concerned and now from respondent No. 1 herein, since the registration certificate granted on 5th July, 1949. As the said raw materials purchased by the petitioner were covered by the classes of goods specified in the registration certificate which were used in the manufacture, respondent No. 1 issued the declaration forms against the said raw materials purchased by the petitioner from the registered dealer. After furnishing the declaration forms issued by respondent No. 1 against the purchase bills, the petitioner got the benefits of payment of the tax at a concessional rate and also exemption from payment of sales tax on the goods purchased from the registered dealer against the said declaration forms. The declaration forms were issued by respondent No. 1 regularly up to the date 21st May, 1980, since the date of registration as on 5th July, 1949, to the petitioner. The petitioner sold the goods, manufactured by the petitioner, i.e., hand signal lamps, buffer lamps, tail lamps, side lamps, slide doors, aluminium wall protectors and other railway fittings and also tin containers, to the railway authorities as well as other registered dealers and customers. The petitioner allowed the concessional rate of tax and exemption from payment of tax on the sale of manufactured goods against the declaration forms supplied by the railway authorities and other registered dealers which were obtained from the appropriate Commercial Tax Officer against the bills of the petitioner. On the basis of the declaration forms, the petitioner claimed the deduction from the gross turnover under Section 5(1) and (2) of the said Act read with Rule 27 of the said Rules and the claims for deductions were allowed by respondent No. 1 after verifying the declaration forms supplied by the registered dealers to whom the goods were sold. The manufactured goods sold by the petitioner were all along accepted by respondent No, 1 as covered by the registration certificate. The raw materials purchased by the petitioner for manufacturing goods were also accepted by respondent No. 1 as covered by the registration certificate and the declaration forms were duly issued to the petitioner against such purchases from which the petitioner got benefit of payment of concessional rate of tax and benefit of exemption from payment of tax up to 21st May, 1980.
(3.) The petitioner was getting the requisite number of declaration forms from the predecessor of respondent No. 1 up to 21st May, 1980, and there was no dispute regarding the issue of declaration forms with the predecessor of respondent No. 1 that the declaration forms were not issued in accordance with law or those were not covered by the registration certificate. When respondent No. 1 had taken over the charge, the applications of the petitioner were placed before? him for consideration regarding the issue of the declaration forms, but respondent No. 1 did neither consider the applications of the petitioner nor any reason was recorded by him regarding his dissatisfaction.;