2019 PTD 452

Case Laws / Head Notes / Paras

11). Even otherwise, the aforesaid notification has been interpreted by the department and the Tribunal consistently as having retrospective effect after the case reported as (1997 PTD (Trib.) 2145) (supra) which had been decided immediately after the amending S.R.O. 593(I)/94 dated 12.06.1994 was issued. There cannot be any cavil to the proposition that if a department places a particular construction on a provision of an enactment for a considerable long time and acts upon it or that it follows a practice consistently without any interruption for a considerable period, it cannot depart from such construction or practice in the absence of new development in the form of clarification by the legislature or by framing of new rules or issuance of binding instructions by the competent authorit...