Natural justice in penalty proceedings required effective hearing; the order was set aside and remanded for fresh decision.

An enhanced penalty order was found vulnerable for breach of natural justice because the appellant was not given an effective further opportunity of hearing after notice and fixation of the hearing. The denial of a proper hearing made the order procedurally inconsistent, so the impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh decision after granting the appellant due opportunity.

---

---

Issues: Whether the enhanced penalty order was vitiated for want of proper opportunity of hearing, and whether the matter required remand.

Analysis: The notice was issued and the hearing was fixed without affording any further opportunity to the appellant. The denial of an effective hearing rendered the order inconsistent with the principles of natural justice.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Commissioner of Central Excise for fresh decision after granting proper opportunity of hearing to the appellant.

---