Customs duty notification takes effect from Gazette publication date, not before, for Bills of Entry already filed.

Notification No. 46/2015-Cus could operate only from its Gazette publication on 21.09.2015, so it did not apply to Bills of Entry filed before that date. The customs duty therefore remained governed by the earlier notification prescribing 7.5%, and the enhanced 12.5% rate could not be applied retrospectively. On that basis, the differential duty was held not payable.

---

---

Issues: Whether Notification No. 46/2015-Cus dated 17.09.2015 enhanced the duty rate from 7.5% to 12.5% for imports where the Bills of Entry were filed before its publication in the Gazette on 21.09.2015.

Analysis: The enhanced rate under Notification No. 46/2015-Cus could operate only from the date it was published in the Gazette. Since the relevant Bills of Entry had been filed before 21.09.2015, the notification was not in force on the date of import. The duty position therefore continued to be governed by the earlier notification prescribing duty at 7.5%.

Conclusion: Notification No. 46/2015-Cus was not applicable to the imports in question, and the differential duty was not payable.

Ratio Decidendi: An exemption or duty-enhancing notification becomes effective only from its Gazette publication date unless a different effective date is expressly provided, and the applicable customs duty is determined by the law in force on the date of filing of the Bill of Entry.

---