IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TEN PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.14170 of 2003 Between: M/s.Style Lamp Industries, Bhimavaram, Rep. by its Proprietor T.K.Kishore, Bhimavaram, West Godavari District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 District Collector and Chairman, District Level Committee, East Godavari District, Kakinada and another. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr.T.Narasimha Chary for Mr.P.Gangarami Reddy Counsel for the Respondents: None appeared. The Court made the following : ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents, in not approving the petitioner-industry as Small Scale Industry unit (for short ‘SSI unit’) for purchase of reserved items, as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner-industry sought for a consequential direction to the respondents to include it in the approved list of rate contractors for purchase of reserved items from it. The petitioner is a Small Scale Industry, registered with the Department of Industries, bearing No.010608266, dated 22-09-1999. The petitioner is involved in manufacture of chokes, fixtures, starters, condensers and other electrical items. In order to encourage local SSI units, the State Government issued G.O.Ms.No.48, Industries & Commerce (SSI) Department, dated 20th February, 1999, w h i c h inter alia directed that the Government Departments/Corporations/Public Sector Undertakings/Autonomous Bodies/Zilla Parishads/Municipalities etc., shall follow the policy enunciated in Para Nos.7 and 8 of the said GO. Para Nos.7 and 8 of the said GO read as under: “7. In order to help SSI units in the state and to face the challenges of liberalization and globalization, Industries Department organized a series of interaction meetings with the SSI, entrepreneurs to deliberate on the policy initiatives required from the Government side to give further boost for the growth of the SSI Sector, Based on the deliberations, Government approved a new policy for small Enterprises vide G.O.6th read above. In respect of the Marketing Assistance Scheme the policy envisages that:- ‘The Marketing Assistance Scheme will be modified to a rate contract system. The departments will be free to place orders directly on any of the units participating in the rate contract. The Department will pay the amount directly to the supplier unit on delivery of the item, after paying the necessary sales tax to the Commercial Tax Department. The implementation of the Scheme will be monitored by the Andhra Pradesh Small Scale industries Development Authority as constituted vide G.O.Ms.No.31, I&, (SSI) Dept., dated 4-2-1999.’ 8. In pursuance of this Policy, Government hereby directs that the Commissioner of Industries shall finalise the rates every year of the reserved items under the rate contract system. A committee to finalise the rates is hereby constituted as below : Commissioner of Industries. Chairman Representatives of 3 major indenting } departments viz., Social Welfare, } Medial & Health and Municipal } Administration & Urban development} Members Joint Director, Industries Member- Convenor.” When the petitioner’s products were not being purchased by the respondents, it has approached the Commissioner of Industries, Andhra Pradesh, with representation, dated 08-09-2000. On being satisfied about the petitioner’s eligibility, the Commissioner of Industries addressed letter, dated 14-09-2000, to the Commissioner of Panchayat Raj Department, Hyderabad, requesting the latter to give preference to the SSI units located in Andhra Pradesh. He has enclosed a copy of the registration Certificate of the petitioner-industry. Respondent No.2, by his letter, dated 15-06-2003, informed the petitioner that the said company is not in the list of industries sent by the Commissioner of Industries and hence, no action is being taken for placing orders on it. I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner. Neither counter-affidavit is filed on behalf of the respondents nor any Counsel had represented them at the hearing. As rightly contended by the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the GO referred to above does not stipulate that, to be eligible for offering goods for sale, the SSI unit need be included in any list of the Commissioner of Industries. Far from there being any such requirement, Para No.7 of the GO reproduced above clearly envisages that the Department would be free to place orders directly on any of the units participating in the rate contract and the Department will pay the amount directly to the supplier unit on delivery of the item, after paying necessary sales tax to the Commercial Tax Department. Even assuming that any such requirement is read in the said GO, letter, dated 14-09-2000, addressed by the Commissioner of Industries, Andhra Pradesh, to the Commissioner of Panchayat Raj Department, Hyderabad, is itself enough for the petitioner- industry to establish its credentials as an SSI unit manufacturing the electrical items, which are, admittedly, included in the list of items contained in G.O.Ms.No.48, Industries & Commerce (SSI) Department, dated 20th February, 1999. In the absence of any resistance from the respondents’ side by contesting the Writ Petition at the hearing and in the light of the arguments advanced by the petitioner’s Counsel, I do not find any reason for the respondents to refuse to consider the petitioner’s request for purchase of the electrical goods manufactured by it. The Writ Petition is, therefore, allowed with the direction to the respondents to permit the petitioner to offer the electrical goods manufactured by it subject to the terms and conditions stipulated in G.O.Ms.No.48, Industries & Commerce (SSI) Department, dated 20th February, 1999, and any other Circular/Instructions that may have been issued from time to time governing the purchase of articles/material from the SSI units by the respondents. ___________________________ (C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J) 21st January, 2010 lur