The retrospective effect of the Notification dated 26.12.2013, ...

Supreme Court Rules Duty Exemption Notifications Can Be Retrospective; Overturns Previous Order in Hydro Project Case.

October 21, 2024

Case Laws     Customs     AT

The retrospective effect of the Notification dated 26.12.2013, issued subsequent to the import date, was examined. The amendment inserted the phrase "113 Kameng Hydro Electrical Power Project, Arunachal Pradesh- 600 MW (North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd.) (NEEPCO)." The appellant's power project, duly approved by the Ministry of Power, was eligible for duty exemption under the Notification dated 17.03.2012. Since the Notification dated 26.12.2013 was curative, incorporating the specific NEEPCO power project for duty exemption, and its effective date was not specified, it should be considered retrospective. The Supreme Court clarified that clarificatory notifications are retrospective, making explicit what was implicit. When the Government rectifies inadvertent errors through notifications, they are treated as corrective/clarificatory with retrospective effect. Consequently, the appellant should be granted the benefit under the Notification dated 26.12.2013, and their application for re-assessment should be considered by extending the exemption. The impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed.

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