In Brief
A sugar mill stored sugar in an approved godown outside its factory premises and paid the requisite tax when removing the sugar, but was penalized for not obtaining prior approval for the storage. The Supreme Court held that the statute requires only 'approval' (not 'prior approval') for godown storage, and approval can be granted ex-post facto. Since ratification and subsequent approval are valid forms of approval under law, and the appellant had paid all tax due with no evasion, the penalty was unjustified. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order imposing the penalty.
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