JUDGMENT

Aftab Alam, J.

1. Leave granted in both the Special Leave Petitions.

2. How far deductions are allowable under rule 9(a) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules, 1963 (“the Rules” hereinafter) for trade discounts?

3. A division bench of the Kerala High Court has held that unless the discount was shown in the invoice itself, it would not qualify for deduction and further that any discount that was given by means of credit note issued subsequent to the sale of the article was in reality an incentive and not trade discount eligible for exemption under rule 9(a) of the Rules. The decision was rendered somewhat gratuitously in the case of M/s IFB Industries Ltd., (the appellant in the appeals arising from SLP (Civil) Nos. 26102-03 of 2010) but it is the India Cements Ltd., the appellant in the other set of appeals (arising from SLP (Civil) Nos. 6861-62 of 2011), that got badly hit by the decision and its claim for deduction of many kinds of trade discounts was rejected summarily and even without an opportunity of any effective hearing to it right from the stage of assessment up to the High Court. But to put the matter in order, we must see how the issue developed before reaching