Court quashes notice due to non-compliance, remits matter with directions for consultation.

The Court found the demand-cum-show cause notice issued to be unsustainable due to non-compliance with instructions and quashed it. The matter was remitted back to the opposite party with directions to supply necessary documents and set a consultation meeting date. The petitioner was instructed to appear before the opposite party to facilitate the process, and all relevant materials were to be presented during the consultation meeting. The writ petition was disposed of, and compliance with the Court's directives was required from the Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax representative.

---

---

Issues:
Challenge to demand-cum-show cause notice dated 1.12.2016 for violating Central Board's instruction dated 8.7.2016.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged a demand-cum-show cause notice issued by the Commissioner, Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax, Bhubaneswar-1, on the grounds of non-compliance with the Central Board's instruction dated 8.7.2016. The petitioner contended that a pre-show cause notice was initially issued without enclosing the necessary documents Annexure-A to E, despite the opposite party's claim of having done so. Subsequently, upon receiving the notice, the petitioner informed the opposite party about the missing annexures and requested their provision to facilitate discussions and a written reply. However, the impugned notice was issued with only Annexures-A to C, disregarding the petitioner's request and violating the instruction dated 8.7.2016.

The Court noted the circumstances surrounding the issuance of the pre-show cause notice without supplying Annexures-A to E, rendering the scheduled discussion date in the notice ineffective. Consequently, the Court found the demand notice issued to be unsustainable and quashed Annexure-1. The matter was remitted back to the opposite party with directions to supply the necessary documents as per the pre-show cause notice, specifically Annexures-A to E, and to set a consultation meeting date for scrutinizing all relevant materials. To facilitate the process, the Court fixed the petitioner's appearance date before the opposite party on 23rd December 2016, during which the authority was instructed to provide the documents and schedule the consultation meeting. The petitioner was directed to present all relevant materials during the consultation meeting.

In conclusion, the writ petition was disposed of, and a free copy of the order was directed to be handed over to the representative of the Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax for compliance with the Court's directives.

---