Official Gazette publication controls exemption timing, so a customs notification operates only when made public, not when dated.

An exemption notification under Section 25 of the Customs Act takes effect only when the Official Gazette is actually published and made available to the public, not merely from the date printed on it. The court read the publication requirement with its purpose of informing the public and trading community, and held that the presumption under Section 81 of the Evidence Act is rebuttable. Because the Gazette reached the public after the printed date, the import duty liability was governed by the exemption still in force on the Bill of Entry date, and the petitioner was entitled to the exemption and lower duty.

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Issues: Whether an exemption notification under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 takes effect from the date borne on the Gazette or from the date on which it is made available to the public.

Analysis: Section 25 requires exemption by notification in the Official Gazette so that the public and the trading community are informed of the change. The ordinary meaning of publication and notification, read with the purpose of the provision, shows that the operative date is when the Gazette is actually made available to the public and not merely when it is printed or dated. The presumption under Section 81 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is rebuttable, and on the facts it was shown that the Gazette reached the public after the date printed on it. The relevant import duty liability was therefore governed by the exemption notification still in force on the date of presentation of the Bill of Entry.

Conclusion: The exemption notification became effective only when the Gazette was published and made available to the public, so the petitioner was entitled to the exemption and lower duty.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the impugned withdrawal of exemption could not be applied to the petitioner's goods.

Ratio Decidendi: A notification required to be published in the Official Gazette operates only when the Gazette is made available to the public, not merely from the date printed on it.

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