TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (7) TMI 924
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....505/- towards central excise (Rs.1,28,26,974/-) and customs duties (Rs.5,75,65,331/-) along with interest under Section 28AB of the Customs Act, 1962 and Section 11AB of the Central Excise Act, 1944 in terms of the bond executed by them before the Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, Hyderabad-A Division, in fulfillment of the conditions laid down for duty free import under the said notification within seven days of receipt of the demand notice. Learned counsel for the petitioner stated that the impugned notice has been issued quantifying the amount of demand in violation of the principles of natural justice, as no show cause notice intending to afford, opportunity of being heard was issued before adjudication of t....
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....e issue involved in this matter, which is reproduced hereunder: "Whether issuance of show cause notice in a case of this nature is mandatory or not?" Before we address to the issue, we examine Section 28(1)(a) of the Customs Act that requires issuance of show cause notice. Accordingly, the said section is set out hereunder: "28. Recovery of duties not levied or short-levied or erroneously - (1) Where any duty has not been levied or has been short-levied or erroneously refunded, or any interest payable has not been paid, part-paid or erroneously refunded, for any reason other than the reasons of collusion or any willful mis- statement or suppression of facts, - (a) the proper officer shall, within one year from the relevant date,....
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....equired to be given in the show cause notice was made available to the appellants in the form of various letters and orders, issuance of such demand notice in a specified manner is not required in law. We do think that we cannot accede to this argument of the learned counsel for the Revenue. Herein we may also notice that the learned Technical Member of the Tribunal has rightly come to the conclusion that the various documents and orders which were sought to be treated as show cause notices by the appellant authority are inadequate to be treated as show cause notices contemplated under Rule 10 of the Rules of Section 11A of the Act. Even the Judicial Member in his order has taken almost a similar view by holding that letters either in....
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....lature is to give a notice before adjudication of the dispute, post decisional hearing does not fulfill the object of issuance of show cause notice and there must be reasons underlying for making such provision. If we have been able to understand the mind of the Legislature, issuance of notice before taking a decision is required. It is general perception that the authority decides the issue in a post decisional hearing without having open mind with inclination to uphold his own decision and not to reverse it. Unlike judicial authority the executive authority's mind is not so flexible. In these circumstances, we think that the very purpose of hearing as mentioned in clause (a) is not fulfilled in this case. If we accept the argument of ....