Section 534 — Laying before Parliament. Successor to s.139B, s.296 of the 1961 Act.
Section 534 is in Chapter XXIII — Miscellaneous, which runs from section 499 to section 536.
The section requires the Central Government to cause three classes of instrument to be laid before each House of Parliament: every rule made under the Act; rules of procedure framed by the Appellate Tribunal under section 364; and every notification issued under sections 263(3) and 264 and Chapter XIII-G.
The laying must be as soon as may be after the rule is made or the notification issued, while the House is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions. If, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or successive sessions in which it was laid, both Houses agree in making any modification, or agree that the rule should not be made or the notification should not be issued, the rule or notification shall thereafter have effect only in the modified form, or be of no effect, as the case may be. The closing words provide that any such modification or annulment is without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification.
Rules and notifications are made by the executive under powers Parliament conferred, and this section keeps Parliament's control over how those powers are used. The thirty-day laying period gives both Houses a defined window to modify or annul, and the saving clause makes that control prospective, so action already taken in reliance on a rule or notification is not undone by its later annulment.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period for which the rule or notification must be laid before each House | A total period of thirty days | While the House is in session; the period may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions | Section 534 |
| Time by which both Houses must agree on a modification or annulment | Before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions in which it was laid | Both Houses must agree, on a modification or that the rule should not be made or the notification not issued | Section 534 |
The thirty days are counted in session days across one or more successive sessions, not as thirty calendar days from the making of the rule, and the window for the Houses to act runs to the end of the session immediately following. The effect of agreement by both Houses is prospective — the rule or notification "shall thereafter have effect" only as modified, or be of no effect — and the closing saving protects anything previously done under it. The section does not make laying a condition of validity; it prescribes the obligation to lay and the consequence of the Houses agreeing to modify or annul.
A notification issued under section 263(3) is laid before both Houses and, before the end of the session immediately following, both Houses agree that it should not have been issued. It is of no effect from that point onward. A return already furnished, and an extension already availed, under that notification before the annulment remain valid, because the closing words preserve the validity of anything previously done under it.
A taxpayer does not encounter this section directly; it operates between the Central Government and Parliament. It becomes relevant when the continuing force of a rule or notification relied on in a return or a proceeding is questioned after Parliament has modified or annulled it.
before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions
so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification
See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.
See the notifications index.