Service Tax Show Cause Notice and Original Order Invalidated After 12-Year Delay in Adjudication Process

HC quashed Show Cause Notice dated June 20, 2012 and Order-in-Original dated March 26, 2024 due to inordinate delay in adjudication. The court rejected Customs Department's justification that delays resulted from repeated requests for documents and placement in Call Book. Following precedents in Swatch Group India and Vos Technologies cases, HC held that statutory timelines for adjudication are mandatory and cannot be circumvented by administrative delays. The 12-year gap between SCN issuance and adjudication, despite multiple hearings between 2012-2015, was deemed unjustified. Court emphasized that such administrative indifference harms both taxpayer interests and exchequer. .....

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