1. SABIHUDDIN AHMED, J.-- The facts of this case are simple. The appellant imported a consignment of 93 units of Mazda Pick-Up and cleared them on 24.10.1993 claiming exemption from sales tax in terms of SRO 500(1)/88, dated 26.6.1988. The respondents, however, claimed that such exemption was not available to the appellant inasmuch as it was withdrawn vide SRO 1105(1)/93, dated 18.10.1993 which was published in the official Gazette on 18.11.1993.
2. The appellant's case throughout has been that the withdrawal of the exemption would became operative only from the date of the actual publication of the Gazette and not the date mentioned at the top of the notification. Nevertheless this contention' was not accepted in the hierarchy of Customs Authorities adjudicating the matter and in appeal before the Customs Excise and Sales Tax Tribunal was also dismissed. The Tribunal took note of a number of judgments of the superior Courts in which the date of actual publication of the Gazette was held to be, terminal on the principles that it was important to determine when a notification was brought to public knowledge.
3. Nevertheless it attempted to distinguish the appellant's case by observing that the appellants were state owned enterprise and the change (in withdrawal of exemption) ought to be in their knowledge as it was brought, about by their controlling Ministry.
4. We find that the reason assigned by the learned Tribunal are untenable. Admittedly the appellants are a Corporation entity duly registered under the Companies Ordinance and though the controlling shares may held by the Government same shares are also held by private parties, It is elementary that a Company is a separate legal entity from its Share-holders and it has been consistently held that Companies which are even fully owned by the Government are separate legal entity and not part of the Government itself, In any case the assumption the appellants should have prior knowledge of a change in taxation mattes is entirely conjectural.
5. Since only a short legal question is involved, we are of the view that remanding the matter to the learned Tribunal would serve no useful purpose, It is well-settled that unless a notification expressly stipulates that it will become effective from beyond date, it takes effect from the date of its actual publication in the Gazette, as has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Muhammad Ishaq Vs. Chief Administrator Auqaf (PLD 1977 SC 639). The above view has been followed in similar judgments of this Court. Accordingly we allow the appeal and held that the appellants are entitled to the exemption claimed to the consignment mentioned above.