Exemption notification commencement date ruled to run from publication where the Act fixed that effective date.

An exemption notification under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, that did not state a commencement date was held to operate from the date of its publication. Section 53(4)(b) expressly fixed publication as the effective date for notifications unless a different day was specified, so the notification could not be treated as retrospectively effective from the beginning of the assessment year. The Supreme Court authority relied on by the assessee was distinguished because the statute considered there lacked an equivalent commencement provision. The assessee's contention was rejected and the Revenue's position was upheld.

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Issues: Whether an exemption notification issued under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, without specifying the date of commencement, took effect from the beginning of the assessment year or only from the date of its publication.

Analysis: Section 53(4)(b) of the Act expressly provided that notifications issued under the Act, unless stated to come into force on a particular day, would take effect on the day they were published. The earlier Supreme Court ruling relied on by the assessee was distinguished because the statute considered there did not contain any provision analogous to section 53(4)(b). In the presence of an express commencement rule in the Act, the notification could not be treated as operative retrospectively from the beginning of the assessment year merely because no specific date was stated in it.

Conclusion: The notification became effective only on the date of its publication, not from the start of the assessment year. The assessee's contention was rejected and the Revenue succeeded.

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