Judgment

Bharucha, J.-The order under appeal, of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, allowed the writ petitions filed by the respondents, follow­ing the High Court’s earlier judgment in the case of M/s. New Shakti Iron Steel Re-rolling Mills v. State of M.P. The State is in appeal by special leave. The State had preferred a petition for special leave to appeal against the judgment in the case of New Shakti Iron Steel and Re-rolling Mills but this Court had declined to interfere in view of the comparatively small amounts involved in the assessments. It left it open to the State to urge its contentions in an appropriate case.

2. By a notification dated 8th October, 1978 issued in exercise of powers conferred by Section 12 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, the State exempted “in whole or in part the purchases of the class of goods specified in column (1) of the Schedule..... from the payment of tax under Section 7 of the State Act so as to reduce it to the total rate of tax specified in column (2) for the periods speci­fied in column (3) of the said Schedule subject to the restrictions and conditions specified in column (4) thereof’. What we are concerned with is item 2(b) of the S