Customs notification effectiveness turned on Gazette publication and sale date, defeating enhanced duty under the later notification.

Under Section 25(4) of the Customs Act, 1962, as it then stood, a customs notification became effective only if it was published in the Official Gazette and offered for sale on the date of issue. Because Notification No. 46/2015-Cus was shown to have been put on sale only on 21.09.2015, the mandatory conditions were not fully met and it could not justify enhanced customs duty. The earlier rate under Notification No. 12/2012-Cus therefore continued to apply.

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Issues: Whether Notification No. 46/2015-Cus dated 17.09.2015 could be applied to enhance the customs duty on the imported goods, and whether the demand for differential duty at 12.5% was sustainable.

Analysis: The imported goods arrived before the notification was shown to have become effective. Under Section 25(4) of the Customs Act, 1962, as it stood prior to the 2016 amendment, a notification issued under Section 25(1) had to be both published in the Official Gazette and offered for sale on the date of issue. The amendment brought in by Finance Act No. 28 of 2016 was prospective. On the material placed on record, the notification dated 17.09.2015 was put on sale only on 21.09.2015, so the second mandatory condition was not satisfied. The notification therefore did not come into force on 17.09.2015 and could not sustain the enhanced duty demand. The earlier rate under Notification No. 12/2012-Cus remained applicable.

Conclusion: The enhanced duty demand based on Notification No. 46/2015-Cus was unsustainable and was set aside; the petitioner was liable only at the earlier rate of 7.5%.

Ratio Decidendi: A customs exemption or rate notification governed by Section 25(4) of the Customs Act, 1962, as it then stood, becomes effective only when both statutory conditions are satisfied, and a later-proved failure to offer it for sale on the date of issue prevents reliance on that notification for enhanced duty.

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