Gazette publication rule: a customs duty notification operates only when the Gazette is publicly available, not when printed.

A customs duty notification issued through the Gazette takes effect only when the Gazette is made available to the public for sale, not merely when it is printed. Applying that principle, the notification dated 30.09.1985 could not operate from the date of printing or an earlier date, because the record showed public availability only on 01.11.1985. The enhanced duty therefore became effective only from 01.11.1985, and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the enhanced customs duty under the notification dated 30.09.1985 became effective from the date it was printed in the Gazette or only from the date when the Gazette was made available to the public.

Analysis: The applicable principle is that a notification issued through the Gazette is not duly published merely upon printing; it becomes operative when it is made known to the public and the Gazette containing it is available for public sale. The record showed that the Gazette containing the notification was made available for public sale only on 01.11.1985. On that basis, the notification enhancing duty could not take effect earlier than that date.

Conclusion: The notification dated 30.09.1985 became effective only from 01.11.1985, not from 30.09.1985 or 08.10.1985, and the assessee succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A notification published through the Gazette takes effect only when the Gazette is made available to the public, not merely when it is printed.

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