UNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus M/S G S CHATHA RICE MILLS & ANR.

Citation: [2020] 14 S.C.R. 571 · Decided: 23-09-2020 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Dismissed

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Judgment (excerpt)

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UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
v.
M/S G S CHATHA RICE MILLS & ANR.
(Civil Appeal No 3249 of 2020)
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
[DR DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD,
INDU MALHOTRA AND K. M. JOSEPH, JJ.]
Customs Tariff Act, 1975:  ss.8A and 11A – Customs Act, 1962
– ss.12, 15, 17, 46 and 47 – Assessment of duty – Shift from manual
to electronic form of governance – Impact of – Publication of
notification on e-gazette – Time of publication on e-gazette –
Relevance of – Starting point for enforceability of e-notification –
On 16 February 2019, the Union Government issued a notification
(Notification 5/2019) u/s.8A of the Customs Tariff Act – The
notification introduced a tariff entry by which all goods imported
from Pakistan were subjected to enhanced customs duty – The
notification was published through electronic mode i.e. uploaded
on the e-Gazette late in the evening of 16th Feb 2019 at 20:46:58
hours – Importers concerned, who had imported goods from
Pakistan, had presented their bills of entry and completed the process
of “self assessment” before the notification enhancing the rate of
duty was issued and uploaded – Whether Notification 5/2019 was
applicable with retrospective effect and the importers concerned
were liable to pay duty on the basis of enhanced rate under the
Notification – Held: With the change in the manner of publishing
gazette notifications from analog to digital, the precise time when
the gazette is published in the electronic mode assumes significance
– Notification 5/2019  must come into operation with reference to
the point of time of the day when it was published on the e-gazette
– Notification 5/2019, which is akin to the exercise of delegated
legislative power, under the emergency power to notify and revise
tariff duty under s.8A of the Customs Tariff Act, cannot operate
retrospectively, unless authorized by statute – In the era of the
electronic publication of gazette notifications and electronic filing
of bills of entry, the revised rate of import duty under the Notification
5/2019 applies to bills of entry presented for home consumption
[2020] 14 S.C.R. 571
571
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2020] 14 S.C.R.
after the notification was uploaded in the e-Gazette at 20:46:58
hours on 16 February 2019 – In the instant case, the twin conditions
of s.15 of the Customs Act, 1962 stood determined prior to the
issuance of Notification 5/2019 on 16 February 2019 at 20:46:58
hours – The rate of duty which was applicable was crystallized at
the time and on the date of the presentation of the bills of entry in
terms of provisions of s.15 of the Customs Act read with Regulation
4(2) of the Regulations of 2018 – Power of reassessment under
s.17(4) could not have been exercised since this is not a case where
there was an incorrect self-assessment of duty – The duty was
correctly assessed at the time of self-assessment in terms of the duty
which was in force on that date and at the time – Subsequent
publication of the notification bearing 5/2019 did not furnish a
valid basis for re-assessment – Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated
Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018 –
Information Technology Act, 2000 – ss.13 and 8 – Information
Technology (Electronic Service Delivery) Rules 2011 – r.5(1) –
Notifications/Circulars/Government Orders.
Circulars/Government Orders/Notifications: Emergency
power conferred upon the Central government u/s.8A of the Customs
Tariff Act to increase import duties “in respect of any article included
in the first schedule” – Notification enhancing rate of duty u/s.8A
of the Customs Tariff Act – Applicability of – Retrospective or
prospective – Held: A rule framed by the delegate of the legislature
does not have retrospective effect unless the statutory provision
under which it is framed allows retrospectivity either by the use of
specific words to that effect or by necessary implication –
Entrustment of the power to issue a notification enhancing the rate
of duty u/s.8A is not accompanied by a statutory entrustment of
authority to the Central government to exercise it with retrospective
effect – A notification u/s.8A(1), even though it has the effect of
amending the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, takes effect
prospectively – Customs Tariff Act, 1975 – s.8A – Delegated
legislation.
Circulars/Government Orders/Notifications: E-notification –
Publication through e-gazettes – Basis for – Held: s.8 of the
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Information Technology Act crea

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