Customs "trend values" hike for select vegetable oils: notification held inoperative and discriminatory; additional duty demand quashed.

The dominant issues were whether the impugned customs notification enhancing assessable "trend values" became operative on 3-8-2001 for levy of additional duty, and whether it validly fixed trend values only for part of a class of goods under the tariff. On publication, while a Gazette carries a rebuttable presumption of genuineness under the Evidence Act, the revenue failed to produce the Gazette or records proving publication on 3-8-2001; a mere letter to the Govt press and website intimation were insufficient, and the evidence supported non-publication on that date, so the notification was held inoperative then and the consequential levy was quashed. On discrimination, fixing trend values only for select vegetable oils without objective justification was beyond statutory authority, so the notification and resulting demand were set aside, with release of securities/bank guarantees.

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Issues: (i) Whether Notification No. 36/2001-Cus. (N.T.), dated 3-8-2001, was published in the Official Gazette on 3-8-2001 and therefore operative from that date or was published on or after 6-8-2001; (ii) Whether the Notification dated 3-8-2001 fixing tariff values only for certain vegetable oils (part of a class) is permissible under Section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 or is discriminatory and therefore invalid.

Issue (i): Whether the impugned notification acquired operativeness on 3-8-2001 by publication in the Official Gazette or only on or after 6-8-2001.

Analysis: Records and available material were examined to determine date of publication and availability for sale; official presumption of Gazette contents applies unless contrary is proved; documents produced by petitioners and publication-sale records indicate availability for public sale from 6-8-2001 and no adequate record was produced by revenue to prove publication on 3-8-2001; statutory amendments to Section 25 indicate notification is effective from date of issue for publication and when offered for sale by the designated authority.

Conclusion: The notification was not published or offered for sale on 3-8-2001 and did not acquire operativeness until on or after 6-8-2001; conclusion is in favour of the assessee.

Issue (ii): Whether fixing tariff values only for certain items within the class of vegetable oils without fixing values for other items of the same class is authorised by Section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: Section 14(2) permits fixation of tariff values for any class of imported goods having regard to trend of value of such or like goods; the impugned notification fixed trend values only for certain items (Crude Palm Oil, RBD Palmolein) which constitute part of the broader class of vegetable oils; no sufficient materials or reasons were placed on record to justify selective fixation for part of the class and no objective satisfaction was demonstrated to support discrimination; absent reasoned justification, selective fixation is not authorised by the statute.

Conclusion: The notification is invalid as it effects discriminatory fixation of tariff values for part of a class of goods; conclusion is in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The impugned notification is set aside, the consequential demand for differential duty is quashed, securities/bank guarantees furnished pursuant to interim orders are liable to be cancelled, and the writ petitions are allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: A notification under the Customs Act becomes operative only when it is published and offered for sale by the designated authority on the date of issue for publication; statutory power to fix tariff values under Section 14(2) must be exercised for a class of goods as a whole and selective fixation for part of a class without adequate reasons is unauthorised and invalid.

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