Best judgment assessment requires reasonable hearing; assessment set aside for denial of effective opportunity.

A best judgment assessment is invalid if the assessee is not given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the pre-assessment notice before finalisation. Here, although a notice under section 12 had been issued, the record showed it reached the assessee only on the date the assessment was completed, and the authorities could not demonstrate any effective time for objections. As the assessing authority was acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, denial of a meaningful opportunity vitiated the assessment. The assessment was set aside and a fresh assessment was directed after hearing the assessee.

---

---

Issues: Whether the best judgment assessment was vitiated for want of reasonable opportunity to the assessee before completion of assessment.

Analysis: The assessment was made under section 12 after a pre-assessment notice was issued. The record showed that although the notice was issued earlier, it reached the assessee only on the very date on which the assessment was completed. The assessee's assertion of delayed service was not effectively denied, and the authorities could not show that any effective time had been afforded to meet the proposals in the notice. In a best judgment assessment, the assessing authority performs a quasi-judicial function and must provide a reasonable opportunity to the assessee to place objections before finalizing the assessment.

Conclusion: The assessment was illegal for denial of reasonable opportunity and was set aside; a fresh assessment was directed after giving the assessee an opportunity to present his case.

---