The service tax adjudication deadline is a directory time limit,...

The service tax adjudication deadline is a directory time limit, not an absolute bar, because the statutory phrase "where it is possible to do so" qualifies the period for passing orders. The provision is intended to secure expeditious disposal and curb administrative delay, but it does not invalidate an adjudication passed beyond one year where the delay is justified. Where repeated notices and hearing opportunities were issued and the assessee did not respond until the final notice, the resulting delay was attributable to the assessee, and the assessee could not rely on its own default to challenge the adjudication.

---