Natural justice breach from defective service and non-supply of relied upon documents led to remand for fresh adjudication.

Breach of natural justice arose where the show cause notice was only affixed at closed factory premises, with no postal attempt made, and the relied upon documents were not supplied despite request. The denial of documents and the manner of service rendered the adjudication unsustainable. The order was therefore set aside and the matter remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh decision after furnishing the documents and granting an opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the impugned order was vitiated for breach of the principles of natural justice on account of non-service of the show cause notice and non-supply of relied upon documents, warranting remand.

Analysis: The factory premises were stated to be closed, the show cause notice had been affixed at the premises, and no attempt was made to serve it by post. The request for relied upon documents had also not been complied with, and this was not disputed by the Revenue. In these circumstances, the denial of the documents and the manner of service of notice rendered the adjudication unsustainable.

Conclusion: The order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh decision after supplying the relied upon documents and granting an opportunity of hearing.

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