Premature show-cause notice under Section 11A is without authority where provisional assessment has not reached the relevant date.

In provisional assessment matters, a show-cause notice under Section 11A is valid only after the relevant date for limitation has occurred. Section 11A(3)(ii)(b) treats the relevant date as the date of adjustment of duty after final assessment, so a notice issued before that date is premature and lacks authority at that stage. The Court found no material to support the claim that the notice related to different material or that the assessments had already been finalised, and the interim restraint was maintained.

---

---

Issues: Whether a show-cause notice issued under Section 11A was valid when, in a case of provisional assessment, the relevant date for the purpose of limitation had not yet arrived.

Analysis: Section 11A(1) permits issuance of a show-cause notice only within the prescribed time from the relevant date. For provisional assessments, Section 11A(3)(ii)(b) identifies the relevant date as the date of adjustment of duty after final assessment. On the facts before the Court, that date had not yet arrived, so there was prima facie substance in the objection that the officer lacked power to issue the notice. The Court also found no material to accept the contention that the notice related to different material or that some assessments had already been finalised.

Conclusion: The show-cause notice was prima facie without authority at that stage, and the appeal against the interim restraint was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: In cases of provisional assessment, the power to issue a show-cause notice under Section 11A arises only after the relevant date under Section 11A(3)(ii)(b) has occurred; before that date, the notice is premature.

---