TMI Blog2005 (8) TMI 113X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... It is not a case where the Respondents were ineligible from claiming the benefit. The subsequent notification, thus, should receive a beneficent construction. registration at the inland container depot was to remain valid for a period of 12 months only and in that view of the matter too, it cannot be said that the Central Government intended to deprive the Respondents herein who were agriculturists from the benefit of the aforementioned notification dated 7-4-1997 only for a limited period, viz., between 7-4-1997 and 27-11-1997. We, therefore, are of the opinion that the High Court cannot be said to have committed any error in arriving at the aforementioned conclusion. Appeal dismissed. - 5196 of 2005 - - - Dated:- 23-8-2005 - S.B. Sinha and Dr. A.R. Lakshmanan, JJ. [Judgment per : S.B. Sinha, J.]. - Leave granted. 2.Interpretation of the expression "substitute" falls for determination in this appeal which arises out of a judgment and order dated 30-1-2004 passed by a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petition No. 21674 of 2002. 3.Shorn of all unnecessary details, the fact of the matter is as under : The Respondent herein is an Association o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation made by the Respondent in terms of its letter dated 23-8-2001, stating : Therefore, exports of tobacco made during"3. the period 1-4-97 to 26-11-97 cannot qualify for DEPB Scheme because it would mean granting retrospective effect to the said customs Notification which is not permitted in law. In this regard, I would also like to draw4. your attention to the letter of even number dated 10-1-2000 of my predecessor wherein similar views were expressed." 6.A writ petition was filed by the Respondents herein questioning the said order before the Andhra Pradesh High Court. The same was allowed by reason of the impugned judgment, holding : "…In the said notification the place Guntur was not included and subsequently by an amendment to the said notification condition (iv) was amended and the place of Guntur was introduced by way of substitution. The word substitution would connote that the Government intended to give benefit to the imports and exports from Guntur and if really the Government wanted to introduce and give benefit to the imports and exports from Guntur from 27-11-1997 they could have issued a separate notification which would operate as prospective in nat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on wordings of the Notification the benefit is not available then by stretching the words of the Notification or by adding words to the Notification benefit cannot be conferred..." 13.A similar view has been expressed by a Division Bench of this Court in Tata Iron Steel Co. Ltd. v. State of Jharkhand and Others [(2005) 4 SCC 272], in which one of us was a party, stating : Eligibility clause, it is well settled,"42. in relation to exemption notification must be given a strict meaning." 14.However, the question which arises for consideration in this case is as to what would be the effect of the subsequent notification. 15.The word "substitute" ordinarily would mean "to put (one) in place of another"; or "to replace". In Black's Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition, at page 1281, the word "substitute" has been defined to mean "To put in the place of another person or thing", or "to exchange". In Collins English Dictionary, the word "substitute" has been defined to mean "to serve or cause to serve in place of another person or thing"; "to replace (an atom or group in a molecule) with (another atom or group)"; or "a person or thing that serves in place of another, such as a play ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -1997, one 'seaport' and 'six inland container depots' have been added. The last two words in the category of seaport, namely, "Tuticorin and Vishakhapatnam" had been substituted by the words "Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam and Kakinada. Similarly the last two words, namely, Ludhiana and Hyderabad" in the category of inland container depot had been substituted by the words "Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Agra, Faridabad, Jaipur, Guntur and Varanasi. It, therefore, cannot be said to be a case where some other seaports or inland container depots have been added for the purpose of extension of the benefit but the newly added seaports or inland container depots had been made a part of the original notification. The Union of India while making a subordinate legislation had advisedly used the word "substitution" in place of the word "addition". The object and purport of the subsequent notification issued by the Union of India was, thus, to grant the same benefit which had been granted to the exporters who were registered at the other seaports, airports or inland container depots as specified in the notification dated 7-4-1997 but also to those exporters, who had been exporting from such se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ve a retrospective effect being declaratory in nature as thereby obvious absurdity occurring in the first amendment and bring the same in conformity with what the legislature really intended to provide was removed, stating : The text of Section 2 of the Second"23. Amendment Act provides for the word "upto" being substituted for the word "after". What is the meaning and effect of the expression employed therein - "shall be substituted"? The substitution of one text for the24. other pre-existing text is one of the known and well-recognised practices employed in legislative drafting. 'Substitution' has to be distinguished from 'supersession' or a mere repeal of an existing provision. Substitution of a provision results in25. repeal of the earlier provision and its replacement by the new provision (See Principles of Statutory Interpretation, ibid, p. 565). If any authority is needed in support of the proposition, it is to be found in West U.P. Sugar Mills Assn. v. State of U.P., State of Rajasthan v. Mangilal Pindwal, Koteswar Vittal Kamath v. K. Rangappa Baliga and Co. and A.L.V.R.S.T. Veerappa Chettiar v. S. Michael. In West U.P. Sugar Mills Association case a three-Judges Benc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... efit. Once they are held to be eligible for obtaining the benefit, the amended notification being an exemption notification should receive the beneficent construction. 30.It is not a case where the Respondents, like the cases of Mahaan Dairies (supra) and Tata Iron Steel Co. Ltd. (supra) were ineligible from claiming the benefit. The subsequent notification, thus, should receive a beneficent construction. 31.The learned Additional Solicitor General relied upon Collector of Central Excise, Bombay-I and Another v. M/s. Parle Exports (P) Ltd. [(1989) 1 SCC 345] for raising the contention that the interpretation of the Executive should receive due consideration. It is not a case where the doctrine of 'Contemporanea Expositio' can be invoked. The order relied upon by the learned Counsel has been impugned by the Respondents by filing the writ petition. It, therefore, cannot be said that by reason thereof the notification had been constructed on administrative side. 32.In M/s. Parle Exports (supra), it was observed : "17…The notification must be read as a whole in the context of the other relevant provisions. When a notification is issued in accordance with power conferred ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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