Natural justice in assessment proceedings: orders set aside where witness requests were ignored and service rules were not followed.

Assessment orders were set aside where the quasi-judicial process was found to breach natural justice. The High Court noted that the request to summon dealers and examine transactions was not dealt with, the proceedings were completed in undue haste, and the signed assessment order was not properly available on the file for a considerable time. It also held that service of the assessment order and demand notice by e-mail was insufficient because the governing rules required service of a certified copy, while e-mail service was confined to summons. The matters were directed to be reconsidered afresh before the Designated Officer.

---

---

Issues: Whether the assessment orders were vitiated for breach of the principles of natural justice, including failure to consider the request for summoning witnesses, improper conclusion of proceedings in haste, and service of assessment order and demand notice through e-mail without a signed certified copy.

Analysis: The assessment proceedings were found to have been accelerated after the authorities were directed to consider the petitioner's refund claim. The petitioner's request to summon dealers and examine the transactions was not dealt with. The order was communicated through e-mail even though the order on the file was not signed, and the Rules required service of the certified copy of the assessment order and demand notice. Rule 86 permitted e-mail service of summons, but not of an assessment order or demand notice. The record also showed undue haste, including discrepancies in the dates of the order and its dispatch, and the signed order was not available on the file for a considerable time. The Court held that a quasi-judicial authority must act fairly and with an open mind, and that the manner in which the assessments were completed deprived the petitioner of fair opportunity.

Conclusion: The assessment orders were liable to be set aside for violation of natural justice, and the matters were directed to be re-done afresh before the Designated Officer.

---