S.S.Sandhawalia, J.

1. Whether Resolution No. 17767 of the Government of Bihar dated 19th October, 1979, continues the benefits extended earlier to the newly set-up small-scale industrial units, including an exemption from sales tax till 30th September, 1979, has come to be the significant issue in this reference to the Full Bench.

2. Messrs. Tara Steel Industries was set up as a small-scale unit by its proprietor. In order to avail the exemption for the sales tax on the purchase of raw materials as well as finished goods granted by the State of Bihar as an incentive to small-scale industries, the petitioner-firm applied for registration before the District Industries Centre, Bhagalpur, and was granted registration certificate No. 03/01/01525/Prov/SSI dated 3rd January, 1979. It has been averred that the petitioner-firm invested a huge amount of money to set up the small-scale industry but on account of imponderable factors the production could not be started prior to 22nd August, 1979. Later, the industries department granted a permanent certificate No. 03/01/02053 dated 27th August, 1979, specifically recording therein that production has started from 22nd August, 1979.

3. With a view to providing incentives for industrialisation in the State of Bihar, respondent No. 3 in exercise of the power conferred under Sec. 4(3)(b) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1959 , issued Notification No. S. O. 363 dated 14th March, 1974, whereby it exempted from the levy of general sales tax, special sales tax and purchase talc and sales of such raw materials to the owner of a newly set-up small-scale unit approved and registered by the department of industry for a period of five years from the date the industry started its production (vide annexure 3 to the writ petition). Similar exemptions were granted or extended from time to time with regard to the sale and purchase of finished products, etc., by the newly set-up small-scale industries (vide annexures 4, 6 and 6). Particular reliance is then placed on annexure 7 dated 19th October, 1979, whereby the respondent-State has extended all the incentives which were being given to the small-scale units up to 31st March, 1979, to 30th September, 1979, as the Government was considering the finalisation of the nature of incentives to be given to industries after the Sixth 5-Year Plan period of 1974-79. Reference has then been made to the Division Bench judgment of this Court in Kailash Roller Flour Mills V/s. Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (1980) 28 BLJR 432 and the circular of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes directing to give incentives to all the new small-scale industries in accord with the said judgment. The petitioner-firm claims that it satisfies all the conditions and requirements necessary for the benefits and exemption granted to small-scale industrial units till 30th September, 1979, in view of annexure 7. Nevertheless respondent No. 1, by his order dated 24th November, 1982 (annexure 10), has, inter alia, held that the petitioner cannot get the benefits of exemption because the same were available only up to 31st March, 1979, whilst the petitioner started production later on 22nd August, 1979. Aggrieved thereby, the present writ petition has been preferred. 3A. In the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent-State, the factual aspect of the petitioner having been set up as a registered small-scale industrial unit is not put in dispute. The basic stand taken is that the petitioner admittedly having gone into production from 22nd August, 1979, was not entitled to get the exemptions which were available only for units which had started production up to 1st July, 1976. Reference is made to a maze of notifications extending or withdrawing these benefits subsequent to the year 1973-74. It is the stand that annexure 7 dated 19th October, 1979, only extended the period of incentives already available to small-scale industrial units under the prior resolutions of the