Pan-India service-tax investigation powers extend beyond local limits, while pre-notice consultation remains recommendatory under departmental guidance.

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....Pan-India jurisdiction of specified Central Excise Officers for service-tax investigations is examined through the meaning of "local limits" under the Service Tax Rules. The notes explain that the Board's power to appoint and invest officers under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 can extend to all-India territorial limits, and that later notifications do not curtail independently conferred powers. They also address overlapping jurisdiction, requiring the specified adjudicating authority to proceed with the relevant show-cause notice. Pre-show-cause-notice consultation under the departmental Master Circular is described as recommendatory rather than mandatory, so its omission does not invalidate notices; factual challenges to original orders remain subject to statutory appellate remedies.....