Proper officer jurisdiction for excise show cause notice: notice by the Range Superintendent was declared ab initio void.

Jurisdiction to issue a show cause notice under Rule 57-I of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 depended on whether the issuing authority was the "proper officer" within Rule 2(14). A notice issued by the Range Superintendent was found invalid because the adjudicatory scheme required issuance by the competent officer having jurisdiction, and the jurisdictional objection had been raised but not properly addressed below. The notice was therefore declared ab initio void in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued by the Range Superintendent was without jurisdiction as it was not issued by the proper officer under the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the competence of the authority issuing the notice under Rule 57-I, read with the definition of proper officer in Rule 2(14) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. The notice had been issued by the Range Superintendent, while the adjudicatory scheme contemplated issuance by the proper officer having jurisdiction. Since the jurisdictional objection had been raised in reply to the notice and was not duly examined below, the validity of the notice itself became determinative.

Conclusion: The show cause notice was held to be issued by an not competent to do so and was declared ab initio void, in favour of the assessee.

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