Mandatory pre-show cause consultation: failure to give a meaningful pre-notice hearing vitiates the show cause notice.

Where departmental instructions make pre-show cause notice consultation mandatory, the authority must provide a meaningful face-to-face or equivalent interaction with the assessee before issuing the notice. A mere exchange of papers is insufficient, and failure to afford the requested pre-notice opportunity vitiates the notice. On the facts, the assessee sought a hearing but no real consultation was granted before the show cause notice issued, so the notice was held unsustainable and was set aside. The authority was directed to provide pre-notice consultation before taking further action, if necessary.

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Issues: Whether the impugned show cause notice was liable to be set aside for want of pre-show cause notice consultation and personal hearing as required by the Board's instructions and circulars.

Analysis: The consultation regime introduced by the departmental instructions was treated as a mandatory step intended to reduce litigation and promote voluntary compliance. The consultation had to be a real interaction between the assessee and the competent officer before issuance of the show cause notice, and not a mere exchange of papers. On the facts, the petitioner had sought an opportunity of hearing, no face-to-face consultation was granted, and the show cause notice was issued without that statutory-administrative precondition being satisfied.

Conclusion: The show cause notice was unsustainable and was set aside; the respondents were directed to afford the petitioner pre-show cause notice consultation before proceeding further, if necessary.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded because the adjudicatory process was held to have violated the mandatory pre-notice consultative procedure.

Ratio Decidendi: Where departmental instructions make pre-show cause notice consultation mandatory, the authority must afford a meaningful pre-notice opportunity of consultation with the assessee before issuing the show cause notice, and failure to do so vitiates the notice.

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