Calcutta, Nov 23 :    Calcutta, Nov 23:  The West Bengal government has allowed Hindustan Motors to defer 50 per cent of its sales tax payments for seven years. The relief came with a setback though, when bus operators in Midnapore challenged a move by the administration to issue 1,000 permits for trekkers, depriving the company of a lucrative order that would have helped it cope with a sales slump. The state government's assurance that it would have the permits issued, have now come to naught with a stay clamped by the district court there, and a ban imposed on the issue of fresh trekker permits by the district magistrate. Hindustan Motors, in the throes of a financial crisis, had sought a 50 per cent deferment of tax under the 1999 incentive scheme announced by the state government. The company had applied for it on the ground that it undertook a Rs 75-crore expansion programme at its Uttarpara factory. 'We have decided to allow HM a deferment of tax. Their case has a merit. We could have given them tax relief earlier as well, but there was some confusion on what the term expansion meant. The company has sent its clarifications,' state finance minister Asim Dasgupta told The Telegraph. Its average annual sales tax payment is estimated at Rs 24 crore. Senior vice-president of the company, Prabal Chatterjee, said both issues had been referred to the respective ministers, and it was now up to them to take some measures. He said he had met the finance minister and requested him to consider the company's request for deferment of taxes. 'I have also urged state transport minister Subhas Chakraborty to help boost trekker sales. We manufacture 75 trekkers per month. Around 600 employees, who are engaged in it, turn idle if there are no orders,' Chatterjee explained. Initially though, Hindustan Motors had sought tax concessions on inputs, but later decided against it. Of the company's total procurement, 20 per cent is made from Bengal.