Service of order validity where registered address changed requires tribunal to verify actual delivery before deeming order served

Validity of service of an order is questioned where there is no acknowledgement or proof of delivery and the assessees registered address had changed; the finding that the order dated 28.09.2021 stood served was held unsustainable without evidence of receipt or a determination that the dispatch address matched the then registered address. The Tribunal, as final fact-finder, must examine service evidence and give reasoned findings; matter remitted to the Tribunal to ascertain whether the appellant was properly served with the original order.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal's conclusion that the order dated 28.09.2021 stood served on the appellant despite absence of acknowledgement or proof of delivery, and without examining whether the registered address had changed, was perverse and violative of Section 37C of the Central Excise Act, 1944.

Analysis: The question required factual examination of whether service was completed at the appellant's correct registered address and whether there was any acknowledgement or proof of delivery. The authorities below recorded dispatch by post but did not record evidence of receipt, nor did they determine whether the dispatch address corresponded to the appellant's registered address during the relevant period. The Tribunal, as the final fact-finding forum, ought to have considered these factual aspects and reached a reasoned finding on proof of service under the statutory framework governing service of orders.

Conclusion: The issue is decided in favour of the appellant and the matter is remitted to the Tribunal to ascertain, with reasons, whether the appellant was duly served with the order dated 28.09.2021.

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