Natural justice in assessment requires personal hearing and prior supply of relied-upon material before finalising the order.

Where an assessee specifically requests personal hearing and an opportunity to confront web-based material and cross-examine sellers, the assessing authority must consider those requests and furnish the relied-upon material before completing the assessment. Here, the objections sought personal hearing and summons to the sellers, but the impugned order did not meaningfully deal with those requests and the material relied upon was not shown to have been supplied in advance. The Madras High Court held that this breached principles of natural justice, set aside the assessment order, and remitted the matter for fresh decision after supplying the material and granting personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was vitiated for denial of personal hearing and opportunity to confront the web-based material and cross-examine the sellers, in violation of principles of natural justice.

Analysis: The objections filed in response to the revision notice disclosed a specific request for personal hearing and for issuance of summons to the sellers so that they could be cross-examined. The impugned order did not reflect any meaningful consideration of those requests, and the material relied upon from the web was not shown to have been supplied to the dealer before the order was passed. In such a situation, personal hearing was mandatory, and the assessing authority was expected to furnish the relied-upon materials and then decide the matter after giving a fair opportunity.

Conclusion: The assessment order was held to be violative of principles of natural justice and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The matter was remitted to the assessing authority for fresh decision after supplying the relied-upon materials and granting personal hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessee specifically seeks personal hearing and an opportunity to meet the material relied upon, the assessing authority must afford such opportunity before completing the assessment, failing which the order is vitiated by breach of natural justice.

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