Natural justice in assessment demands notice of hearing and response to adjournment requests before adverse orders are made.

Assessment orders were vitiated by breach of natural justice where the assessee was not informed of a specific personal hearing date and its adjournment request was neither accepted nor rejected. The court held that a fair assessment required clear intimation of the hearing date and communication of the decision on any request for extension before adverse orders were passed. The proposed penalty under Section 27(3)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 reinforced the need for a proper hearing. The orders were set aside and the matter remitted for fresh assessment after due opportunity of hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment orders were liable to be set aside for violation of natural justice on the ground that the assessee was not intimated the date of personal hearing or the decision on its request for adjournment.

Analysis: The notice of proposal only stated that the assessee could avail an opportunity of being heard in person within ten days and did not fix a specific date of hearing. The assessee had also sought additional time by way of an adjournment request, but there was no communication either accepting or rejecting that request. In such circumstances, the assessee could not be treated as having failed to appear deliberately. A fair assessment process required intimation of the hearing date and communication of the decision on the request for extension before adverse orders were passed. The proposed levy of penalty under Section 27(3)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 also reinforced the need for a proper opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The assessment orders were vitiated by violation of natural justice and were set aside, with the matter remitted for fresh assessment after due opportunity of hearing.

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