Entitlement to Industrial Development Scheme incentives for unregistered units must be individually examined by the Empowered Committee.

The petitioner, a company that installed a solar power plant in District Pauri Garhwal, sought to avail benefits under the Industrial Development Scheme, 2017.

Although the petitioner initiated correspondence for registration and invested significant capital, the Union of India issued communications dated 30.07.2024 and 09.11.2023, stipulating that scheme benefits would be restricted exclusively to units already registered.

The petitioner challenged these communications, asserting that the issue had already been adjudicated by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh in favor of industrial units.

1. Whether the restrictive communications dated 30.07.2024 and 09.11.2023, denying benefits to unregistered units under the Industrial Development Scheme, 2017, are legally sustainable.

2. Whether the petitioner’s case is squarely covered by the precedent set by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh regarding the registration of units by the Empowered Committee.

The court relied on Clause 6.1 of the policy of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (D.I.P.P.), which outlines the role of the Empowered Committee in considering unit registrations.

It further applied the judicial precedent established in Union of India and another v. Atul Sharma and others (LPA No. 169 of 2025) by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, which held that the Empowered Committee must examine each case individually for the grant of incentives under the 2017 Scheme.

The court noted that the impugned communications, which sought to bar unregistered units from the 2017 Scheme, had already been set aside by a Single Bench and subsequently a Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, a decision that attained finality before the Supreme Court.

During proceedings, the learned Central Government Standing Counsel (C.G.S.C.) conceded that the subject matter of the present writ petitions was identical to the Himachal Pradesh litigation and admitted that the case was squarely covered by the said precedent.

Consequently, the court determined that the petitioner’s eligibility for incentives must be evaluated via the prescribed administrative mechanism—the Empowered Committee—rather than being summarily rejected by the impugned departmental communications.

The Court directed the Empowered Committee, chaired by the Secretary of D.I.P.P., to separately consider the case of each petitioner for the grant of incentives under the Industrial Development Scheme, 2017, within four months from the date of production of the certified order.