Official Gazette publication controls notification effective date, preserving transitional protection for imports under earlier letters of credit.

A delegated notification required by the parent statute to be published in the Official Gazette acquires enforceable legal force only on such publication, so the expression "date of this Notification" in its exemption clause had to be read as the publication date. On that construction, imports covered by irrevocable letters of credit opened before publication fell within the transitional protection under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020. The restriction therefore could not be applied to those imports, and the challenge to the High Court's view succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the expression "date of this Notification" in the impugned notification meant the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, and whether imports under irrevocable letters of credit opened before such publication were entitled to transitional protection.

Analysis: Section 3 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 requires orders regulating imports and exports to be published in the Official Gazette. The notification itself stated that it was to be published in the Gazette, showing that it had not yet acquired legal force before publication. Delegated legislation becomes enforceable only upon publication in the manner prescribed by the parent statute. Once the notification became operative on publication, the expression "date of this Notification" in the exemption clause had to be read as the date of such publication. Paragraph 1.05(b) of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 therefore protected imports covered by irrevocable letters of credit established before the restriction took effect.

Conclusion: The notification acquired the force of law only on publication in the Official Gazette, and the appellants were entitled to the benefit of the transitional protection.

Final Conclusion: The restriction could not be applied to imports covered by letters of credit opened before the notification became legally effective, and the challenge to the High Court's view succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A delegated notification that is required by the parent statute to be published in the Official Gazette has no enforceable legal effect before such publication, and any transitional exemption tied to the "date of notification" must be construed by reference to that publication date.

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