Court sets aside income tax assessment order for lack of fair hearing, directs fresh assessment within two months.

The court set aside the income tax assessment order due to the violation of principles of natural justice, as the petitioner was not given a fair opportunity to be heard and submit relevant documents. The court directed the assessing officer to conduct a fresh assessment, ensuring the petitioner's right to a proper hearing and adherence to natural justice principles within two months. The court emphasized that the decision was based solely on procedural fairness and did not delve into the merits of the assessment order. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions.

---

---

Issues Involved:
Violation of principles of natural justice in an income tax assessment order

Analysis:
The petitioner filed a writ petition against an impugned order dated 26th September, 2021 under Section 144 read with Section 254 and 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The grievance raised was regarding the violation of principles of natural justice due to the petitioner not being afforded an effective opportunity of hearing and not being allowed to file relevant documents despite repeated requests. The petitioner cited technical glitches in the portal system of the Income Tax Department as the reason for the inability to submit the documents. The court noted the annexed documents and correspondences provided by the petitioner as evidence of facing technical issues. The respondent's advocate did not contest these allegations, acknowledging them as part of the records.

The court, after considering the submissions of both parties, concluded that keeping the writ petition pending would serve no purpose. In the interest of justice, the court decided to set aside the impugned assessment order dated 26th September, 2021. The assessing officer was directed to pass a fresh assessment order after affording an effective opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and observing principles of natural justice, preferably within two months from the date of the judgment. It was explicitly stated that the court did not delve into the merits of the assessment order but invalidated it solely on the grounds of the violation of principles of natural justice.

Consequently, the writ petition, numbered WPO 1121 of 2021, was disposed of with the aforementioned observations and directions.

---