Service of show cause notice as a condition precedent led to remand for fresh adjudication after hearing the assessee.

Service of the show cause notice was treated as a condition precedent to a valid adjudication, and because the Commissioner (Appeals) had dismissed the appeal only for non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement, the merits and the notice-service dispute were not examined. The matter was therefore remanded for fresh adjudication after granting the assessee a hearing and recording whether notice had been duly served. The assessee succeeded on remand.

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Issues: Whether the appeal deserved remand where the dismissal by the lower appellate authority was on the ground of non-compliance with the pre-deposit requirement and the assessee disputed service of the show cause notice.

Analysis: The appeal raised a controversy regarding service of the show cause notice on the assessee. Since the Commissioner (Appeals) had dismissed the appeal for want of compliance with the pre-deposit requirement, the controversy relating to service of notice and the merits of adjudication had not been examined. In such circumstances, the proper course was to send the matter back for fresh adjudication after giving the assessee an opportunity of hearing and recording the fact of service of notice, which is a condition precedent to passing the adjudication order.

Conclusion: The matter was remanded for passing a reasoned order after hearing the assessee, and the assessee succeeded.

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