( 1 ) IN this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner, a Public Limited Company engaged in the manufacture of pesticides, challenges the notices dated 2. 8. 2001 issued by the Sales-tax Officer, Surat under Section 41b of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act" for brevity) for making provisional assessment for the financial years 1997-98 to 2000-01 for levy of additional purchase tax under Section 15b of the Act. The petitioner has also prayed for a writ to permanently restrain the respondent from levying any additional purchase tax under Section 15b.

( 2 ) THE facts leading to filing of the petition, briefly stated and as averred by the petitioner, are as under :- the petitioner is a manufacturing unit which is eligible to sales-tax incentive scheme under which the purchases made by it of raw materials etc. are nominally taxed in the hands of selling dealer who would recover the same from the manufacturer and the sales made by the manufacturer of the manufactured goods would be exempted wholly. To give effect to the said incentive scheme, the State Government exercising its powers under Section 49 (2) of the Act i