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TMI Blog1991 (10) TMI 62X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gs (circles) having 99.7% purity by SS 'Kostrena'. The vessel arrived at Bombay Port on 31 July 1982. Since there was congestion in the Bombay Port, the vessel was not allocated any berth and it left for Cochin Port. It again berthed at Bombay Port on or about 13 August 1982. The petitioner filed its Bill of Entry for home consumption on that day itself. The contention of the petitioner in the writ petition is that duty imposed under Notifications No. 182/82 and No. 189/82 purportedly issued on 31 July 1982 by the first respondent whereby partial exemption from duty in respect of certain goods of aluminium slugs falling under Chapter 76 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, available under the Notification No. 260/81-Customs, dated 3 December 1981 and Notification No. 131/82-Customs, dated 11 May 1982 was sought to be withdrawn, is illegal. They say the goods were imported prior to the date of withdrawal of the exemption by impugned notifications. The impugned notifications are both dated 31 July 1982. Petitioners have placed on record a letter from the Controller of Publications, Government of India, Ministry of Works and Housing, Department of Publication, Delhi, that the impugned not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate of customs duty in terms of the Notification No. 260/81 read with Notification No. 341/76 and read with Notification No. 131/82 as it stood prior to its purported amendment on 31-7-1982 upon the petitioners furnishing a bond for the disputed amount of duty supported by Bank Guarantee for 50% of the disputed amount of duty; (b) pass ad interim exparte order in terms of prayer (a) hereinabove; and" 6. The bond was to be executed to the satisfaction of the Collector of Customs, Bombay. 7. This interim order made earlier was confirmed on 24 October 1985. 8. The question that arises is : What would be the date of the notification of the Official Gazette which would take effect; whether it is the date on which the Official Gazette is printed or the date when it is issued to the public? Language of Section 25 of the Act shows that the Central Government is to inform the general public, or the trading community in particular, as to the exemption notification or its withdrawal. That can only be done if the Official Gazette is made available to the general public. The word "notification" in ordinary parlance means the act of notifying or giving notice; notice given in words, or a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ished either in the Gazette in which it would have appeared but for the passing of this Act, or in the Gazette of India under the directions of the Governor General of India in Council." 11. That is all this Act. 12. Then, Section 3 of the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, issued under Section 293 of the Government of India Act, 1935, provided as under :- "3. The Indian laws mentioned in the Schedule to this Order shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority, have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications directed by those Schedules to be made therein or, if it is so directed, shall cease to have effect." 13. Under the Schedule, it was mentioned that the Official Gazettes Act, 1863, shall cease to have effect. Section 293 of the Government of India Act, 1935, provided as under :- "293. His Majesty may by Order in Council to be made at any time after the passing of this Act provide that, as from such date as may be specified in the Order, any law in force in British India or in any part of British India shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e volume of Statutes of the year in which they are passed and are easily found there if required. But the insertion recently of Section 6A in the General Clauses Act, 1897, has abolished all reasons for keeping amending Acts of this nature alive. Notwithstanding the repeal of such Acts, amendments made by them continue in existence. Henceforward they may be repealed in the same way that enactments repealing previous Acts are now habitually repealed under cover of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act. The present Bill contains proposals for the repeal of several hundred enactments, including Acts, Regulations and sections of Acts or Regulations, which were passed to make textual alterations in previous enactments. A few other enactments are included which are either themselves repeals or are enactments the effect of which is spent, such as Excess Profits Duty Act, 1919. These have hitherto been overlooked in the annual Repealing and Amending Acts. Certain Acts which have, by virtue of the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 ceased to have effect are now formally repealed. The Bill does not include for repeal any Act or Regulation passed later than the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nion Territories). SECTION 3 - Sub-Sec, (ii) - Statutory Orders and Notifications issued by the Ministries of the Government of India (other than the Ministry of Defence) and by Central Authorities (other than the Administration of Union Territories). SECTION 3 - Sub-Sec, (iii) - Orders and Notifications issued by the Central authorities (other than the Administration of Union Territories). SECTION 3A - Authoritative texts in Hindi (other than such texts, published in Section 3 or Section 4 of the Gazette of India) of General Statutory Rules Statutory Orders (including Bye-laws of a general character) issued by the Ministries of the Government of India (including the Ministry of Defence) and by General Authorities (other than Administration of Union Territories). SECTION 4 - Statutory Rules and Orders issued by the Ministry of Defence. PART III - SECTION 1 - Notifications issued by the High Courts, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Union Public Service Commission, the Indian Government Railways and by Attached and Subordinate Offices of the Government of India. SECTION 2 - Notifications and Notices issued by the Patent Office, relating to Patents and Designs. SEC ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ler of Publications, Department of Publications, Civil Lines, Delhi, who will determine the no. of copies to be printed." 18. Para 3 of the Office memorandum prescribes the time schedule for publication of the Weekly and Extraordinary Gazettes. An Extraordinary Gazette which is to be printed in bulk requires 24 hours for publication from the time of the receipt in the press if it is upto two pages of typewritten matter. All these instructions go to show that it is not the date which is printed on the Official Gazette which is relevant, but the date on which the Gazette is made available to the public is that relevant. 19. What is the use of the Official Gazette which is lying in the printing press of the Government of India or any Government Department and is not made known to the public who are to be affected by such a Gazette. We have seen what is meant by the words "notification" and "publication". Principle "ignorance of law is no excuse" cannot be invoked unless that law is made public. It is, therefore, the date on which the Official Gazette is made available to the public that matters/ and not the date on which it is shown to have been printed. 20. We are supported in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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