https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786092 Service of a show cause notice (SCN) must precede issuance of an adjudicatory order; SCN pasted on a departmental notice board after return from post does not constitute valid service. Where the SCN was served only after an order and beyond the extended fiveyear limitation for nonpayment or short payment of duty, the notice was timebarred and the order founded on it could not be sustained. The exception for fraud, collusion, willful misstatement or suppression was not invoked to defeat limitation. Consequently the impugned order was set aside and appeals allowed, with consequential relief to the appellants. en-us Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 06 Feb 2026 09:25:39 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786092 Service of a show cause notice (SCN) must precede issuance of an adjudicatory order; SCN pasted on a departmental notice board after return from post does not constitute valid service. Where the SCN was served only after an order and beyond the extended fiveyear limitation for nonpayment or short payment of duty, the notice was timebarred and the order founded on it could not be sustained. The exception for fraud, collusion, willful misstatement or suppression was not invoked to defeat limitation. Consequently the impugned order was set aside and appeals allowed, with consequential relief to the appellants. Case-Laws Central Excise Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786092