Gazette publication and civil consequences: withdrawal of excise exemption took effect only when the notification was made publicly available.

A withdrawal notification with civil consequences under Rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 is not enforceable merely because it is printed in the Gazette; it becomes operative only when published in the sense of being made known to the public, ordinarily by being made available for sale. On the facts noted, the Gazette was placed on sale only on 8-12-1982, so the public could not be treated as having notice of the withdrawal before that date. The earlier exemption therefore continued to apply to clearances made from 30-11-1982 to 7-12-1982.

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Issues: Whether a withdrawal notification under Rule 8 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 took effect on the date shown in the Gazette or only when the Gazette was made available to the public, and whether the assessee was entitled to the earlier exemption for clearances made before such public availability.

Analysis: A notification having civil consequences is not enforceable against the public merely because it is printed in the Gazette; it must be published in the sense of being made known to the public. The normal mode of such publication is making the Gazette available for sale to the public. On the material available, the withdrawal notification was placed on sale only on 8-12-1982. Therefore, for the period before that date, the public could not be treated as having notice of the withdrawal of exemption.

Conclusion: The withdrawal notification became effective only from 8-12-1982, and the assessee was entitled to the benefit of the earlier exemption for clearances made from 30-11-1982 to 7-12-1982.

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