Sunil Ambwani, Actg. C.J. - (1.) WE have heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and learned counsel appearing for the respondents -State of Rajasthan.
(2.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Public Limited Company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 with its registered office at Ambujanagar, Taluka Kodinar, District Ghirsomnath, Gujarat. The petitioner No. 2 is shareholder and Vice -President of the Company. In all these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the order dated 7.4.2014 and the demand notice of the same date served on the petitioners on 23.4.2014, whereby a total demand of Rs. 34,30,44,244/ - (including interest) has been raised, by way of enforcement of the undertaking given by the petitioner -Company, pursuant to the Notification dated 22.2.2002. The order dated 7.4.2014 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Department, Beawar (Rajasthan) has been challenged on the grounds that the undertaking is not enforceable against the petitioner -Company and that the petitioner -Company is not liable to pay any amount under the said undertaking. The petitioner -Company has also challenged the demand as patently without jurisdiction and without authority of law, as well as on the ground that the impugned order is not an order passed under the provisions of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003. The petitioner -Company has also challenged the Notification dated 22.2.2002, under which the undertaking was given. On these grounds, the writ petitions have been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, without availing the statutory remedies of appeal and a second appeal to the Rajasthan Tax Board.
(3.) BRIEF facts giving rise to these writ petitions are that in the year 1996, the predecessor of the petitioner -Company, namely, DLF Cement established a new cement manufacturing unit at Rabriyabas at a total cost of Rs. 400 crores and commenced production on 10.9.1996. A Rajasthan Sales Tax New Incentive Scheme for Industries, 1989 (for short, the Incentive Scheme of 1989") was issued by the State Government vide Notification dated 6.7.1989, providing for grant of partial exemption of Rajasthan Sales Tax (RST) and also Central Sales Tax (CST) to the new industrial undertakings, subject to fulfilment of stipulated conditions. Under the Incentive Scheme of 1989, before or after the amendment dated 10.12.1996, the benefit available to a "Large Scale Cement Unit" was and continued to be 25% of the sales tax liability. The petitioner -Company applied, on which, the Eligibility Certificate was issued to it for grant of incentive to the extent of 25% for 11 years, as it had commenced commercial production before the amendment dated 10.12.1996. The petitioner -Company availed the incentive of 25% of the sales tax liability from 27.3.1997 to 21.2.2002.;