Court sets aside assessment order due to breach of natural justice in failure to allow adjournment request amidst lockdown.

The Court found a breach of natural justice in the case, where the Assessing Officer failed to accommodate the petitioner's request for an adjournment amidst the lockdown situation. The assessment order dated 27.04.2021 for the assessment year 2018-2019 was set aside due to the narrow timeframe for response to the show cause notice and the petitioner's circumstances. The Court emphasized the importance of upholding principles of natural justice in administrative proceedings and granted liberty to the Assessing Officer to proceed lawfully.

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Issues:
1. Breach of principles of natural justice due to narrow timeframe for response to show cause notice.
2. Failure of Assessing Officer to accommodate petitioner's request for adjournment during lockdown.
3. Validity of the impugned assessment order dated 27.04.2021 for assessment year 2018-2019.

Issue 1: Breach of principles of natural justice due to narrow timeframe for response to show cause notice:
The petitioner contended that the assessment order dated 27.04.2021 for assessment year 2018-2019 should be set aside due to a breach of principles of natural justice. The show cause notice-cum-draft assessment order required a response by 26.04.2021, a timeframe deemed narrow considering the lockdown in Delhi since 19.04.2021. The petitioner requested an adjournment due to the inability to access records and the chartered accountant's COVID-19 affliction. Despite the request and the CBDT's extension of the assessment order deadline to 30.06.2021, the Assessing Officer passed the order on 27.04.2021, disregarding the petitioner's circumstances. The Court found a prima facie breach of natural justice, as the petitioner's request was not addressed before passing the order.

Issue 2: Failure of Assessing Officer to accommodate petitioner's request for adjournment during lockdown:
The Court noted that the Assessing Officer failed to accommodate the petitioner's request for adjournment, despite the lockdown situation and the CBDT's extended deadline for assessment orders. The petitioner's circumstances, including the lockdown and the chartered accountant's illness, warranted an extension for filing a response. The failure to consider these factors compromised the petitioner's ability to contest the revenue's position effectively. The Court opined that the AO could have easily accommodated the petitioner given the extended deadline, highlighting the failure to address the adjournment request as a critical oversight leading to the breach of natural justice.

Issue 3: Validity of the impugned assessment order dated 27.04.2021 for assessment year 2018-2019:
The crux of the matter revolved around whether the narrow timeframe for responding to the show cause notice, amid the lockdown and petitioner's circumstances, rendered the impugned assessment order unsustainable. The Court concluded that the circumstances outlined in the writ petition justified setting aside the assessment order as it compromised the petitioner's right to contest effectively. Accordingly, the impugned assessment order for the assessment year 2018-2019 was set aside, granting liberty to the AO to proceed lawfully. The writ petition and pending application were disposed of accordingly, emphasizing the importance of upholding principles of natural justice in administrative proceedings.

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