- (1.) THIS is a petition for quashing of the decision of the Lower Level Screening Committee (in short, "the LLSC") and Higher Level Screening Committee (in short, "the HLSC") by which the petitioner's prayer for grant of exemption/deferment certificate has been rejected.
(2.) THE facts of the case lie in a narrow compass. The petitioner set -up a new industrial unit at village Kamimajara, Raipur Road, Yamuna Nagar, by spending over rupees one crore. After completing the necessary formalities, it submitted an application dated May 13, 1999 to the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Yamuna Nagar, for grant of tax exemption. The LLSC rejected its application on December 6, 1999 primarily on the ground that in its meeting held on July 1, 1999 the HLSC had rejected number of appeals/ applications for grant of sales tax exemption to the industrial units which had not obtained change of land use certificate from the Department of Town and Country Planning. The operative part of the decision taken by the LLSC, which is incorporated in the memo annexure P -2 dated December 24, 1999 sent to the petitioner by the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Yamuna Nagar, is reproduced below : "No one appeared on behalf of the unit before the committee. The committee observed that despite of various opportunities afforded the unit, it has failed to produce change of land use certificate. HLSC in its meeting held on dated July 1, 1999 have rejected number of appeals/applications for the grant of sales tax exemption to the industrial units which have not obtained the CLU from Department of Town and Country Planning. In the light of above, the committee decided to reject the application of the unit for the grant of sales tax exemption."
(3.) THE appeal filed by the petitioner was dismissed by the HLSC on May 25, 2000 in the following terms : "Shri Maninder Singh, Advocate appeared before the committee on behalf of the industrial unit. The case was considered by the committee. After the due deliberation the committee decided to reject the appeal as the party failed to furnish change of land use permission as enjoined under Sub -rule (3)(f)(vi) of Rule 28 -B, despite various opportunities offered by the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Yamuna Nagar." The petitioner has challenged the impugned orders mainly on the ground that the decision taken by the HLSC in its meeting held on July 1, 1999 to decline exemption/deferment certificate on the ground of non -production of change of land use certificate has been set aside by the High Court. It has challenged the appellate order on an additional ground that the HLSC has gravely erred by invoking Rule 28 -B(3)(f)(vi) of Haryana General Sales Tax Rules, 1975 (hereinafter referred as "the Rules") because the said Rule was not in existence on the date of submission of the application and the State Government does not have the power to make rules with retrospective effect.;