Facts: Viraj Impex Pvt. Ltd. and other appellants, private limited companies engaged in importing mild steel items, challenged a notification issued by the Central Government imposing a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on certain steel products. The appellants had entered into firm sale contracts and opened irrevocable Letters of Credit (LCs) before the notification was published in the Official Gazette on 11.02.2016, though the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) uploaded the notification on its website on 05.02.2016. The appellants sought a declaration that the notification should not apply to LCs opened before its official publication.
Procedural Posture: The High Court dismissed the appellants' writ petitions, holding that the notification's uploading on 05.02.2016 constituted sufficient notice. The appellants then appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court's order.
Issue: Can the expression "date of this Notification" in para 2 of the notification issued under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, be interpreted to mean a date other than the date of its publication in the Official Gazette? Specifically, does uploading the notification to the DGFT website constitute sufficient notice to importers?
Holding: No, the expression "date of this Notification" must necessarily mean the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. The notification acquires the force of law only upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
Reasoning: The Court emphasized that delegated legislation must be made known in the manner ordained by the legislature, and publication in the Gazette serves a dual constitutional purpose: ensuring accessibility and notice, and ensuring accountability. The parent statute, the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, mandates publication in the Official Gazette. The Court held that the notification itself acknowledged its incompleteness before publication by stating it was "to be published in the Gazette of India". The Court also noted that Paragraph 2 of the Notification dated 05.02.2016 provides that imports/shipments under Letter of Credit already entered into before the date of this Notification shall be exempt from MIP condition subject to para 1.05(b) of the FTP. The appellants, having opened irrevocable LCs before 11.02.2016 and complied with para 1.05(b) of the FTP, are entitled to the benefit of the transitional provision. Applying the MIP to imports under LCs opened before the official publication date would undermine the object of the Act and introduce uncertainty.