Fair opportunity in revision proceedings requires effective consideration of the assessee's reply before fresh adjudication.

Section 263 revision was prima facie available because the assessment had allowed the claim without examining the land's nature and the related eligibility issue, making the order potentially erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue. However, the assessee's reply to the show-cause notice was not effectively considered due to difficulty in opening the uploaded response, and the revision was completed in haste before limitation expired. On those facts, the requirement of a fair opportunity was not fully met, so the impugned revision was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh adjudication after reasonable hearing.

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Issues: Whether the revision order under section 263 required interference and fresh consideration because the assessee's reply was not properly considered and the matter was decided in haste.

Analysis: The assessment order had allowed the claim without examining the nature of the land and the related eligibility issue, so the revisional authority had prima facie jurisdiction to invoke section 263 on the ground that the assessment was erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. However, the assessee's reply to the show-cause notice was not effectively considered because of the procedural difficulty in opening the uploaded reply and the revision was completed within a very short time before limitation expired. In these circumstances, the requirement of a fair opportunity was not fully satisfied, and the matter called for reconsideration on the basis of the assessee's response.

Conclusion: The impugned revision order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the revisional authority for fresh adjudication after granting reasonable opportunity to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded only for statistical purposes, with the revision proceedings restored for a fresh decision on the merits after due hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: A revision order passed without effective consideration of the assessee's reply and in breach of fair opportunity may be remitted for fresh adjudication, even where revisional jurisdiction is otherwise prima facie available.

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