Union of India v. G.S. Chatha Rice Mills
(2021) 2 SCC 209
In the Supreme Court of India
Civil Appeal 3249, 3250, 3252-3279/2020
Before Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Indu Malhotra, and Justice K.M. Joseph
Decided on September 23, 2020

Relevancy of the Case: Operating nature of a notification issued through e-gazette

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 6, 8)
• The Customs Act, 1962 (Section 15, 17, 46, 47, 68)
• The Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (Section 8A)
• The General Clauses Act, 1897 (Section 5(3))
• The Constitution of India, 1950 (Article 226)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• In 2019, a terrorist attack took place at Pulwama.
• After this incident, the Central Government issued a notification under Section 8A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. As per this notification, goods originating from Pakistan were subjected to an enhanced custom duty of 200%.
• The Government uploaded this notification on the e-gazette.
• The authorities at the Customs Station, Attari, sought to enforce the enhanced duty rate on importers who submitted the bills of entry before the notification was released.

Opinion of the Bench

• Section 8 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 creates a legal basis for publishing laws through e-gazettes.
• The issued e-notification must take effect from that fraction of a minute and not prior.
• The timestamp of its publication will determine the time of the enforceability in line with Sections 6 and 8 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• An e-notification could not operate retrospectively to the prejudice of any assessee unless it is authorised by a statute expressly.

Final Decision

• The court finds no merit in the appeals and they stand dismissed.