Refund rejection beyond show cause notice scope is unsustainable; new grounds cannot support an adverse adjudication.

A refund rejection based on a ground not alleged in the show cause notice is unsustainable because a quasi-judicial authority cannot travel beyond the scope of the notice. Here, the notice alleged non-production of documents and ineligibility for refund, but did not state that the shipping bills themselves had to be challenged. Since the adverse order rested on that ground, the adjudication exceeded the notice and could not stand. The impugned order was set aside and the refund claim succeeded with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the refund claim on a ground not alleged in the show cause notice was sustainable.

Analysis: The refund claim was rejected by the lower authorities on the basis that the shipping bills had not been challenged, although that ground was not part of the show cause notice. The notice had proceeded on non-production of documents and alleged ineligibility for refund, but not on any objection that the shipping bills themselves were required to be challenged. A quasi-judicial authority cannot sustain an adverse order on a new ground not put to notice, as that would take the adjudication beyond the scope of the notice and the objections raised therein.

Conclusion: The rejection on a ground outside the show cause notice was unsustainable and the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the refund appeal succeeded with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: An adjudication cannot be sustained on a ground not alleged in the show cause notice, and an authority acting beyond the notice renders its order unsustainable.

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