Retrospective safeguard duty could not be levied on imports cleared before the notification was published in the Official Gazette.

Safeguard duty introduced by Notification No. 38/2002 could not be applied to imports that were cleared before the notification was published in the Official Gazette. The goods had been imported and cleared before 12-4-2002, when the notification took effect, and the earlier notification did not impose safeguard duty on those imports. Because the amendment also stated that it would not apply to things done or committed before the amendment, the levy could not be retrospectively fastened on the pre-publication imports.

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Issues: Whether safeguard duty introduced by Notification No. 38/2002 could be applied to imports cleared before its publication in the Official Gazette.

Analysis: The import and clearance of the goods had taken place before 12-4-2002, the date on which Notification No. 38/2002 was published in the Official Gazette. The earlier notification governing the import did not attract safeguard duty, and the subsequent notification expressly indicated that the amendment would not apply to things done or committed to be done before such amendment. In these circumstances, the levy could not be fastened on imports made prior to the date of publication.

Conclusion: The safeguard duty was not leviable on the respondent's imports made before 12-4-2002.

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