Jurisdictional defect in show cause notice: unauthorized issuance by an unempowered officer rendered the proceedings invalid.

A show cause notice issued by a Deputy Director, Anti-Evasion, was held to be without jurisdiction because the officer had not been shown to possess the requisite Central Excise authority during the relevant period. Mere association with the Anti-Evasion set-up did not confer power to issue the notice. As the initiating notice was unauthorized, the subsequent adjudication and penalty proceedings founded on it were also invalid in law, and the assessee succeeded on the jurisdictional objection.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued by the Deputy Director, Anti-Evasion, who was not empowered during the relevant period, was without jurisdiction and whether the proceedings founded on it were valid in law.

Analysis: The notice was issued by an officer who had not been shown to possess the requisite powers of a Central Excise authority for the relevant period. The Tribunal followed its earlier decision on the same jurisdictional issue and held that mere association with the Anti-Evasion set-up did not confer authority to issue the notice. Since the initiating notice itself was unauthorized, the subsequent adjudication and penalty proceedings could not stand.

Conclusion: The notice and the proceedings taken pursuant to it were invalid in law, and the assessee succeeded on the jurisdictional objection.

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