In Brief
High Range Coffee Curing sought to claim exemption from purchase tax under Karnataka's Industrial Policy, 1996, arguing that because its industry was added to the policy's Appendix IV, and because purchase and sale are aspects of the same transaction, it should receive the same benefits granted for sales tax. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the Malnad Areca decision had settled that the policy grants exemption only for sales tax, not purchase tax. The Court confirmed that states may levy tax at different points (sale or purchase) separately, and that merely adding an industry to the policy's list does not change its substantive scope. The Court also condoned minor delays in filing and rejected a technical challenge to the High Court's recall of its earlier judgment."
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