Date of Publication in Official Gazette?
NOTIFICATION No. dated 17.03.2012 enhanced the baggage limit to Rs. 35,000/-. The notification mentioned that it would come into force on the date of publication in the official gazette. When was it published in the official gazette? Nobody seems to know. Overactive officers in airports interpreted this in many ways. Some said, it would come into force after the Finance Bill is enacted and some officers even asked the hapless passengers arriving from foreign countries to produce a copy of the gazette if they wanted the enhanced free baggage allowance of Rs. 35,000/-. Even after a Commissioner told us that it was effective from 17.03.2012, we found his officers flouting his directions and not allowing the enhanced allowance.
When is a notification effective from?
Section 5A(5) of the Central Excise Act stipulates,
(5) Every notification issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section 2(A) shall, —
(a) unless otherwise provided, come into force on the date of its issue by the Central Government for publication in the Official Gazette;
(b) also be published and offered for sale on the date of its issue by the Directorate of Publicity and Public Relations, Customs and Central Excise, New Delhi, under the Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963).
Section 25(4) of the Customs Act has similar provisions.
Now the exemption notifications, as per the above provisions, will come into force on the date of its issue for publication in the gazette, not necessarily the date of publication in the gazette.
The Notifications are also to be published and offered for sale ON THE DATE OF ITS ISSUE by the Directorate of Publicity and Public Relations. Has this directorate ever published or sold a single notification in the last five years? If not, are they not violating the provisions of Section 5A(5) of the Central Excise Act and Section 25(4) of the Customs Act?
Certain notifications come into force on the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Now, how does one know when a notification is published in the gazette? Or for that matter whether it is published at all. Does the Board maintain gazetted copies of all notifications?
In UOI vs Ganesh Das Bhojraj - , the Supreme Court held, Notification under Section 25 of the Customs Act would come into operation as soon as it is published in the Gazette of India, i.e., the date of publication of the Gazette.
Is this confusion necessary? Further, will all the corrigenda and backdoor corrections that Board makes find their way into the gazette?
Who publishes the gazette?
The Gazette is published by the Controller of Publications under the Ministry of Urban Development!
Can't the publication and effective date of notification be more simple and transparent? And shouldn't the Law need a little change?
And there are other controversies especially in respect of non-tariff notifications like retrospective validity, which should be subject for another discussion.