Concessional tax notification construed to operate from an earlier effective date to preserve continuity and uphold assessments.

A concessional sales tax notification under the Assam General Sales Tax Act was construed as operating from 1/5/2001 to preserve continuity after the earlier notification expired on 30/4/2001. The fixed three-year limit ran from the date of issue, but the notification's language and context showed an intended uninterrupted concessional regime from the earlier effective date. Because no vested right was prejudiced and the transactions during the intervening period already enjoyed the concession, the Commissioner's clarification and the rectified assessments based on that construction were upheld, and the challenge to the consequential demands failed.

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Issues: Whether the notification issued under section 9(3) of the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993 could be treated as operative from 1/5/2001 so as to sustain the concessional rate of tax for the relevant period, and whether the rectified assessments and consequential demands based on the contrary clarification were liable to be set aside.

Analysis: The statutory scheme limited the life of a notification issued under section 9(3) to three years from the date of issue, but the words used in the notification showed a clear intention to continue the concessional regime without break from 1/5/2001. The earlier notification had run its course on 30/4/2001, and the later notification was intended to provide continuity. The phrase "date of issue" was held to mark the starting point for the three-year period, while the notification's effective operation could validly commence from the earlier date indicated by its terms and context. No vested right of the petitioner was impaired, as the transactions for the intervening period had already enjoyed the concessional rate. The clarification issued by the Commissioner and the revisional order were therefore consistent with the statutory purpose and surrounding circumstances.

Conclusion: The notification was validly construed as effective from 1/5/2001, and the challenge to the clarification, rectified assessments, and consequential demands failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the empowering provision limits a concessional notification to a fixed period from the date of issue, the notification may still be construed to operate from an earlier effective date if its language and surrounding statutory context unmistakably show an intended continuity and no vested right is prejudiced.

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