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2023 (11) TMI 821 - CALCUTTA HIGH COURTMaintainability of petition - petition dismissed on the ground that the petitioners have approached the court belatedly challenging a demand which was raised in the year 2019 - HELD THAT:- The authority has not considered or adjudicated the correctness of the stand taken by the appellant-assessee and continued to issue demand notices alleging default in service tax liability. At that stage, the petitioners had filed the writ petition assuming the audit being of the department had, prima facie, come to a conclusion that there is a default in payment of service tax liability, such audit para will be forwarded to the concerned jurisdictional officer, who, in turn, will put on the assessee on notice to enable the assessee to respond to the allegation. It is thereafter the case will be adjudicated after affording an opportunity to the assessee and an order will be passed by the jurisdictional officer. However, in the instant case such procedure has not been followed. Be that as it may, the assessee is entitled to an opportunity and the assessee should be permitted to place its stand before the jurisdictional officer who has to adjudicate the same and thereafter come to a conclusion by passing a speaking order. This procedure having not been adopted in the instant case, appropriate direction needs to be issued to the authority to do so in the matter. The writ petition is disposed of by directing the petitioners to treat the allegations in para 2 of the Draft Audit Report in Draft Audit Report No.191/ST/DGP Audit/Gr.-02/17-18 which was appended to the notice dated 24.04.2019 as a show cause notice and submit their objections within 30 days from the date of receipt of the server copy of this order.
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