Limitation objection can be raised on appeal; demand timeliness must be verified by the adjudicating authority.

Limitation was treated as a question of law that could be raised at the appellate stage even though it had not been urged before the lower authorities. The record suggested that the demand may have been raised beyond the five-year period, but the underlying facts required verification by the adjudicating authority. The matter was therefore remitted for fresh examination of whether the demand was time-barred, with a direction to afford the assessee an opportunity of hearing before passing a new order.

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Issues: Whether the plea of limitation, though not raised before the lower authorities, could be raised before the appellate authority, and whether the question whether the demand was beyond the prescribed period required examination by the adjudicating authority.

Analysis: The limitation objection was treated as a question of law capable of being raised at the appellate stage. The record indicated that the demand appeared to have been raised beyond five years, but the factual aspects needed verification by the lower authority.

Outcome: The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority to examine whether the demand had been raised beyond five years and to grant an opportunity of hearing before passing a fresh order.

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