Rule 57E credit cannot be denied on a ground absent from the notice; new objections cannot be raised on appeal.

Credit under Rule 57E could not be denied on a ground not raised in the show cause notice. The notice invoked only Rule 57E(3), and the appellate stage could not be used to introduce a fresh objection based on Rule 57E(2). The Tribunal also treated its earlier unchallenged order in an identical matter as binding, holding that Rule 57E(3) was not attracted because the duty had been paid without notice and the extended period under Section 11A(1) was unavailable. On that basis, the denial of credit was not sustained.

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Issues: Whether credit under Rule 57E could be denied on a ground not stated in the show cause notice, and whether the appeal could succeed on the basis of Rule 57E(2) when the notice invoked only Rule 57E(3).

Analysis: The dispute concerned credit of duty paid on input after clearance. The earlier Tribunal order in an identical matter involving the same respondent had already held that Rule 57E(3) was not attracted because the duty had been paid without notice and the extended period under Section 11A(1) was not available. That order had not been set aside and was therefore treated as binding. The Tribunal also noted that although the revenue argued that the timing requirement in Rule 57E(2) was not satisfied, the notice did not deny credit on that basis. Since the sole ground in the notice was Rule 57E(3), a fresh case could not be introduced at the appellate stage.

Conclusion: Credit could not be denied on a ground not taken in the notice, and the appeal failed.

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