JUDGMENT:

Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J

1. Leave granted.

2. Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissing the Writ Petition and the Sales Tax Revision Petition filed by the appellant.

3. The Writ Petition No.18392/2005 was filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in short the Constitution) with a prayer to quash the assessment orders on the ground that they are contrary to the policy notification issued by the Karnataka Government. The Sales Tax Revision Petition was filed under Section 23(1) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (in short the Act) against the judgment and order dated 29.6.2004 passed by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore (in short the Tribunal).

4. The only question that arose for consideration in the petitions before the High Court was whether the assessee- industry was eligible for exemption in respect of purchase tax leviable under Section 6 of the Act on the value of arecanut purchased from member-growers and consignment of arecanut outside the State for sale, as also the levy of turnover tax under Section 6-B and cess under Section 6-D of the Act by virtue of the Notification issued by the State Government pursuant to the Government Order No.CI.30SPC.96(I) dated 15.3.1996 as amended by Government Order No.CI.30.SPC.96(I) dated 14.5.1999.

5. The assessee was engaged in the processing of arecanut purchased from members growers and sale thereof to non resident commission agents. The assessee was registered as a new industrial unit with the Directorate of Commerce and Industries and claimed to be governed by package of New Industrial Policy, 1996 and Package of Incentives and Concessions under 1996-2001 Scheme and eligibility certificate in that regard had been issued. Though initially the claim was accepted, subsequently, the revisional authority initiated proceedings under Section 21(1) of the Act and revised the assessment orders and levied purchase tax under Section 6 along with the turnover tax under Section 6-B of the Act and cess under Section 6-D of the Act on the ground that the appellant is eligible for sales tax exemption only on the sales turnover of manufactured goods in terms of the Government Order dated 15.3.1996 as amended by Government Order dated 14.5.1999 and thus Notifications did not cover tax leviable under Section 6 of the Act on the purchase value of arecanut effected from registered and unregistered dealers. It is to be noted that the writ petition related to the assessment years 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 while revision petition related to assessment years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. 6. Stand of the assessee before the High Court was that the expression "commercial tax, incentives and concessions" finds its place in the Government Order dated 14.5.1999. It was the assessees stand that the expression "tax" covers the tax leviable under the provisions of the Act and there was no justifiable reason to exclude purchase tax levied or leviable under Section 6 as the same was tax under the provisions of the Act. Stand of the revenue on the contrary was that what is exempted under the Government orders and the implementation notification is only "sales tax" and not "purchase tax" levied under Section 6 of the Act. It was pointed out that the Government Orders dated 15.3.1996 and 14.5.1999 and Notification issued by the State Government in exercise of its powers under Section 19(C) of the Act in implementing the Government orders exempts only tax payable under the Act in respect of the goods manufactured and sold by the industrial units. The High Court after referring to various clauses in the Government Order and the Industrial Policies accepted the stand of the revenue.

7. The stand taken before the High Court was re-iterated by learned counsel for the appellant.

8. With reference to one of the items covered by Notification i.e. coffee curing unit, it was stated that there was no question of any exemption being g