Meaningful opportunity of hearing requires communication of adjournment requests before completing assessment proceedings.

An assessment order cannot be sustained where an assessee's written request for time to produce supporting documents is neither decided nor communicated before the assessment is completed. The court noted that the assessee appeared in response to notice, sought 20 days' time in writing, and the request was recorded in the assessment order, yet no acceptance, rejection, or next hearing date was conveyed. Such non-communication deprived the assessee of a meaningful opportunity to participate and amounted to breach of natural justice. The assessment order was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh assessment after granting due hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order could be sustained when the assessee's written request for time to produce supporting documents was not separately decided or communicated before completion of the assessment proceedings.

Analysis: The assessment was made pursuant to a notice under Section 22(4) of the Tamil Nadu VAT Tax Act, 2006. The assessee appeared on the date fixed and sought 20 days' time in writing to produce supporting documents. The request was admitted in the assessment order, but there was no communication of either acceptance or rejection of that request and no intimation of the next date of hearing. A request for extension of time in assessment proceedings must be considered and the decision must be communicated so that the assessee can effectively participate in the proceedings. Passing the assessment order without such communication denied a meaningful opportunity of hearing and amounted to a violation of natural justice.

Conclusion: The assessment order could not be sustained and was set aside. The matter was remitted for fresh assessment after giving due opportunity of hearing to the assessee.

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