Natural justice breached by ineffective service of hearing notice, leading to setting aside and remand for fresh decision.

Improper service of the Section 35E(4) application and hearing notice vitiated the appellate proceedings where letters were sent to an address after the factory had been sold. The appellant had no effective notice, no opportunity to contest the matter, and no duty to inform the Commissioner (Appeals) of the address change on these facts. The proceedings were therefore contrary to natural justice, the impugned order was set aside, and the matter was remitted for fresh decision in accordance with law.

---

---

Issues: Whether the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals) was vitiated for want of service of the application and notice of hearing, resulting in denial of opportunity to the appellant and breach of natural justice.

Analysis: The appellant established that the application under Section 35E(4) and the notice of hearing were not effectively served. The record showed that hearing letters were sent to an address where the factory had already been sold, and the appellant had no obligation to inform the Commissioner (Appeals) of the change in address. Since the appellant was unaware of the pending proceedings and had no opportunity to contest them, the proceedings were held to be contrary to the principles of natural justice.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside for violation of natural justice, and the matter was remitted to the Commissioner (Appeals) for fresh decision in accordance with law.

---