Retrospective rescission of tax exemption invalid without express statutory power; Gazette publication controls effectiveness.

A rescinding notification under a publication-based tax exemption scheme takes effect only on publication in the Gazette unless the parent statute expressly or by necessary implication authorises retrospective operation. Because section 9(1) required Gazette publication for both exemption and rescission, the court held that the notification could not validly withdraw the exemption from an earlier date before publication. It operated only from the date it was published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, so the taxpayers succeeded.

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Issues: Whether a notification rescinding an earlier exemption under section 9(1) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act could take effect retrospectively from a date prior to its publication in the Official Gazette.

Analysis: Section 9(1) required notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette for granting exemption, and the same publication requirement applied to rescission. The Court held that delegated legislation does not operate retrospectively unless such power is expressly conferred or necessarily implied by the parent statute. In the absence of such authority, a rescinding notification affecting tax liability could become effective only on publication in the Gazette, which is the point at which subordinate legislation is promulgated and made known to the public.

Conclusion: The rescinding notification was not effective from the earlier date mentioned in it and operated only from the date of its publication in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette; the petitioners succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A delegate cannot give retrospective effect to an exemption or rescinding notification unless the parent statute expressly or by necessary implication confers that power, and a notification under a publication-based statutory scheme takes effect only upon publication.

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