Bellary
Steels & Alloys Ltd. Vs. Deputy Commnr., Commercial Taxes & Ors. [2009]
INSC 1435 (12 August 2009)
Judgment
CIVIL APPELLATE
JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO.4303 OF 2006 Bellary Steels & Alloys Ltd.
...Appellant(s) Versus Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (Assessments)
& ...Responden Ors. t(s) WITH
CIVIL APPEALS NOS.4306, 4305, 4304, 4308, 4307, 5660 & 5291 OF 2006 ORDER
Heard both sides at length.
Appellant(s) herein agree
to withdraw the original Writ Petitions filed by them in the Karnataka High
Court, unconditionally. In view of such withdrawal, the impugned judgment of
the Division Bench as well as the judgment of the learned Single Judge will not
survive. It is made clear that such withdrawal of the original Writ Petitions
will not preclude the Trade from moving the Government with a proper
representation explaining the fall-out of the impugned Notification dated 11th
October, 1995 and loss of benefit on account of the impugned notification.
Today, when investments in
the States is the need of the hour, the Government needs to consider such
representations of the Trade keeping in mind the ....2/- CA 4303/06
etc..contd..
Industrial Policy, dated
12th July, 1993 as well as the Notification dated 28th October, 1993 as also
the subsequent Industrial Policy vide Government Order dated 15th March, 1996
which, inter alia, contains an option to the assessee to opt for the old versus
new policy.
The representation, if
any, will be made by the Trade within a period of six weeks.
Before concluding, we may
state that we have allowed the appellant(s) to withdraw the original Writ
Petition as the said proceedings came to be filed against show cause notice. We
have repeatedly held that in the absence of factual foundation, it would be
impossible to decide matters of this kind. When doctrine of promissory estoppel
is invoked, the doctrine needs to be based on factual data which has not been
pleaded. The High Court should not have interfered in the matter. In these
cases, the writ petition was filed without reply to even the show cause notice.
In the circumstances, we could have dismissed these Civil Appeals only on the
ground of failure to exhaust statutory remedy, but for the fact that huge
investments involving the large number of industries is in issue.
Subject to above, Civil
Appeals are dismissed as ...3/- CA 4303/06 etc..contd..
withdrawn with no order as
to costs.
..................J.
(S.H. KAPADIA)
..................J.
(AFTAB ALAM)
New
Delhi,
August
12, 2009.
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