Bani Polymers Vs. Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes and ors.

sales tax - investment - rule 3 (66) of bengal sales tax rules, 1941, bengal finance (sales tax) act, 1941 and west bengal sales tax act, 1954 - appellant applied for grant of eligibility certificate under rule 3 (66) of bengal sales tax rules read with section 4-aa of west bengal sales tax act - assistant commissioner of commercial taxes rejected application - tribunal also upheld the rejection - tribunal took the view that word 'investment' in rule 3 (66) connotes purchase and expenditure on lease is not 'investment' - total investment in plant and machinery was much less than prescribed limit under rule 3 (66) - no material was produced by respondents to support their claim that price was not real price - held, appellant entitled to grant of eligibility certificate. - section 42 & service regulations for employees (other than those in the flying crew and those in the aircraft engineering departments), regulation 12(b), proviso: [tarun chatterjee & r.m. lodha, jj] voluntary retirement - right of employee completing 20 years of continuous service held, proviso to regulation 12(b) subject it to condition of approval by competent authority. voluntary retirement thus would become effective not on expiry of notice period, but only when approval is granted. fact that refusal of approval was not given within notice period is immaterial. interpretation of statutes proviso: held, it makes exception to main enactment. proviso using word shall indicates that it is mandatory. .....finance (sales tax) act, 1941 and the west bengal sales tax act, 1954. it started business on 1-3-1979. it is also registered as a small-scale industry with the directorate of cottage & small-scale industries with effect from 25-2-1980. it is a manufacturer of rubber goods. the appellant applied to the assistant commissioner of commercial taxes for grant of eligibility certificate under rule 3(66) of the bengal sales tax rules, 1941 read with section 4-aa of the west bengal sales tax act, 1954. the application for eligibility certificate was rejected by the assistant commissioner by order dated 29-4-1981 specifying the grounds of rejection.3. the appellant challenged the above order by a writ petition filed in the calcutta high court which stood transferred to the west bengal taxation tribunal for decision. the tribunal by the impugned judgment dated 24-7-1990 has rejected that petition. hence this appeal by special leave.4. the only question for decision is about the meaning of the word 'investment' in rule 3(66), the relevant part of which is as under:'(i) with an investment up to rupees twenty lakhs on plant and machinery, excluding land and building.'5. there is no dispute that if the total investment of the appellant on the plant and machinery excluding land and building was up to rs 20 lakhs and not in excess thereof, the appellant would be entitled to grant of the eligibility certificate. the tribunal took the view that the expression connotes purchase or capital expenditure on purchase and that expenditure on lease is not investment, nor is it an expenditure of capital nature. from the additional material produced by the appellant before the tribunal which remained unrebutted, it is clear that the total investment on plant and machinery of the appellant amounted to rs 3,05,203.62 p. only which is much less than rs 20 lakhs which is the limit prescribed in rule 3(66) as quoted above.6. learned counsel for the respondents contended that the figure does not.....