TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (9) TMI 379
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....-1978. Consequent to the said show cause notice, the impugned order dated 30-1-1981 has been passed. 2. The provisions of Section 36 as it stood at the relevant point of time read as under :- "Section 36 : Revision by Central Government. - (1) The Central Government may on the application of any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the rules made thereunder by any Central Excise Officer or by the Central Board of Excise and Customs constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963, and from which no appeal lies, reverse or modify such decision or order. (1A) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be accompanied by a fee of rupees one hundred and twenty-five. (2) The Central Government ....
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....ich any decision or order has been passed under Section 35 or Section 35A of the said Act for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of such decision or order and may pass such order thereon as it thinks fit. The third proviso to this sub-section, which is applicable in the present case as the allegation is of short levy, stipulates that where the Central Government is of the opinion that any duty of excise has, inter alia, been short levied, no order levying or enhancing duty shall be made under the said section "unless the person affected by the proposed order is given notice to show cause against it within the time limit specified under Section 11A". Section 11A as it stood at the relevant point of ....
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....5. In response to this plea, the respondents in their counter-affidavit have only taken the point that the said plea was an afterthought and did not appear to have been agitated before the reviewing authority at the time of personal hearing. However, even if the submission made by the respondents is taken to be correct, since the requirement of issuing the show cause notice within a stipulated period of time is a mandatory requirement, whether the petitioner took or did not take the plea that the show cause notice was time-barred would not be of much relevance. It is a jurisdictional issue and can be taken at any point. It was for the respondent to show that the show cause notice had been issued within the stipulated period of six mon....