Customs Act, 1962 Section 159 — Rules, certain notifications and orders to be laid before Parliament

Overview

Section 159 of the Customs Act, 1962 mandates that all rules, regulations, specific notifications, and certain orders issued under the Act must be presented before both Houses of Parliament. This ensures parliamentary oversight and accountability over the executive's power to legislate on customs matters, allowing Parliament to modify or annul these instruments.

Who Does This Apply To?

This section primarily applies to the Central Government (specifically the Department of Revenue, under the Ministry of Finance) which is responsible for making rules, issuing notifications, and passing orders under the Customs Act, 1962. Indirectly, it affects all importers, exporters, customs brokers, and other individuals or businesses involved in cross-border trade as their operations are governed by these rules and regulations. Customs officers also need to be aware of this section.

How It Works

The process outlined in Section 159 is as follows:

• Issuance of Rules/Notifications/Orders: The Central Government issues rules or regulations under the Customs Act, 1962, or notifications under specific sections like 11, 11B, 11H, 11-I, 11K, 11N, 14, 25, 28A, 65, 66, 69, 70, 74, 75, 76, 98, 98A, 101, and 123, or orders under Section 25(2) (excluding those of strategic, secret, individual, or personal nature).
• Laying Before Parliament: As soon as possible after the issuance, these instruments are laid before each House of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) while they are in session.
• Parliamentary Scrutiny: The rules, regulations, notifications, or orders remain before Parliament for a total period of 30 days. This period can be comprised in one session or across multiple successive sessions.
• Modification or Annulment: Before the expiry of the session immediately following the session(s) mentioned above, both Houses of Parliament can agree to either modify the instrument or annul it altogether.
• Effect of Agreement: If both Houses agree to a modification, the rule, regulation, notification, or order will only have effect in its modified form. If both Houses agree to annul it, the instrument becomes void.
• Validity of Prior Actions: Any modification or annulment by Parliament does not invalidate actions taken previously under the original rule, regulation, notification, or order.

Important Conditions & Exceptions

• Condition 1: Orders issued under Section 25(2) that relate to goods of strategic, secret, individual, or personal nature are exempt from this requirement.
• Condition 2: The rules/notifications/orders must be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
• Exception: The power of Parliament is limited to modification or annulment. They cannot directly draft or substitute rules/notifications/orders. They can only force the executive to revise or withdraw the instrument.

Practical Example

Suppose the Ministry of Finance issues a notification under Section 25 to increase the basic customs duty (BCD) on imported electronic components from 10% to 15%. This notification must be laid before both Houses of Parliament. If, after review, both Houses agree that the increase is detrimental to the "Make in India" initiative as it increases the cost of manufacturing, they can resolve to modify the notification, reducing the BCD to 12% instead. The notification will then be effective with the revised rate of 12%. However, any customs duties already collected at the 15% rate before the parliamentary modification remain valid.

Key Amendments

No major amendments since enactment.