Quantified duty demand in show cause notice is a mandatory statutory requirement for valid excise adjudication.

Section 11A of the Central Excise Act requires a show cause notice to specify the quantified duty demanded. The majority reasoned that the words "the amount specified in the notice" are mandatory, because the assessee must know the demand with certainty and adjudication under Section 11A(2) cannot exceed the amount stated in the notice. Omission to quantify the demand is therefore not a mere technical defect but a failure to satisfy a statutory condition for a valid notice.

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Issues: Whether a show cause notice under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is valid if it does not specify the quantified amount of duty demanded.

Analysis: The majority held that the expression "the amount specified in the notice" in Section 11A(1) is not surplusage and must be given full effect. The notice must state the amount of duty so that the assessee is not left to conjecture, speculation, or calculation, and because Section 11A(2) itself limits adjudication to an amount not exceeding the amount specified in the notice. The majority preferred the view that specification of the amount is a statutory requirement and that omission to do so is not a mere technical defect.

Conclusion: A show cause notice issued without quantification of demand is not legal and valid.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the governing provision requires the amount to be specified in the notice, quantification of the duty demand in the show cause notice is a mandatory condition for a valid notice and adjudication cannot exceed that specified amount.

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