The petitioner is a manufacturer of steel ingots and iron bars and a dealer registered under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, hereinafter referred to as the 'KGST Act' on the rolls of the 1st respondent. It is also a dealer under the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003, hereinafter referred to as the 'KVAT Act'. It is the case of the petitioner that as per Ext.P3 orders, the petitioner was granted exemption under the Notification SRO.No.1729/93 for a period of seven years commencing from 24.12.1996. It had effected additional investments in 11 stages within the original period of exemption and an application seeking the benefit of exemption was forwarded to the 5th respondent for issuing the eligibility certificate. The 5th respondent however issued the eligibility certificate only in respect of one application and did not issue the eligibility certificate in respect of the other application. Even on the one application that was cleared by the 5th respondent, the 3rd respondent did not issue the necessary exemption certificate. The petitioner was therefore constrained to prefer W.P.(C).No.1455/2006 seeking a direction to the 3rd respondent to issue the exemption certificate and W.P.(C).No.16921/2006 seeking a direction to the 5th respondent to issue the eligibility certificates in respect of the remaining applications submitted by the petitioner. The present writ petition was filed at a stage when the appeals preferred by the petitioner, against assessment orders passed for the years 2001-02 and 2002-03, wherein the claim for exemption of the petitioner was denied by the Assessing authority, was pending consideration before the 2nd respondent Appellate Authority. Exts.P10 and P11 are the appeals preferred by the petitioner which are stated to be pending before the Appellate authority. The relief prayed for in the writ petition is for a direction to the 2nd respondent Appellate authority to defer from passing any orders on Exts.P10 and P11 appeals till such time as a decision is taken by the 5th respondent and the 3rd respondent in the matter of grant of eligibility certificates and exemption certificates respectively. 2. It is noted that by an order dated 15.9.2009, this Court granted an interim stay against disposal of Exts.P10 and P11 appeals pending disposal of the writ petition. It is now brought to my notice that W.P.(C).No.1455/2006 and W.P.(C).No.16921/2006 which were pending at the time of filing of the present writ petition, were disposed by a common judgment dated 20.3.2010. Against the said judgment, the petitioner preferred W.A.No.1542/2010 and W.A.No.1374/2010, both of which came to be disposed by a Division Bench of this Court by judgment dated 4.2.2011. It is submitted that against the said judgment of the Division Bench, the State Government has preferred appeals before the Supreme Court, which are numbered as Civil Appeal Nos.205/2013 and 206/2013 and the petitioner has also preferred separate appeals which are numbered as Civil Appeal Nos.208/2013 and 209/2013. The said appeals are stated to be pending consideration by the Supreme Court.
3. I have heard Sri.S.Anil Kumar, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, Smt.Mariam Mathai, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the 5th respondent as also Smt.Lilly.K.T., the learned Government Pleader appearing on behalf of the official respondents.
4. On a consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case as also the submissions made across the Bar, I am of the view that insofar as the issue of grant of eligibility certificates as also the exemption certificates by the 5th respondent and the 3rd respondent respectively, will be decided only pursuant to the disposal of the appeals preferred by the State Government as well as the petitioner before the Supreme Court, there will be no purpose served in permitting the 2nd respondent Appellate Authority to decide the appeals pending before him for the assessment years in question. I feel therefore that the present writ petition can be disposed by making the interim order absolute by directing the 2nd respondent to await the decision of the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos.205/2013, 206/2013, 208/2013 and 209/2013 before passing final orders in Exts.P10 and P11 appeals preferred by the petitioner, and which are pending before the 2nd respondent. I make it clear that the petitioner shall bring to the notice of the 2nd respondent the outcome of the proceedings pending before the Supreme Court so as to enable the 2nd respondent to pass orders in the appeal immediately thereafter.
The writ petition is disposed as above.
A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR JUDGE prp