Mandatory notice period in ex parte assessment vitiates proceedings and requires fresh notice before lawful reconsideration.

An ex parte assessment under section 74 was held unsustainable where the assessee was not given the mandatory statutory period to respond to the notice. Because the reply date in the impugned notice fell within that prescribed period, the proceedings were treated as vitiated and the assessment could not stand. The notice was quashed, and the matter was remitted for issuance of a fresh notice and fresh adjudication in accordance with law, leaving the underlying tax dispute open for reconsideration.

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Issues: Whether the notice and ex parte assessment order under section 74 were liable to be quashed for breach of the mandatory notice period, and whether the matter was to be remitted for fresh proceedings.

Analysis: The Court followed its earlier decision on the same legal point and accepted that the assessee had not been afforded the minimum statutory period required before the assessing authority proceeded ex parte. Since the impugned notice fixed a reply date within the prescribed period, the resulting assessment could not be sustained. The Court therefore treated the defect as going to the validity of the proceedings and directed a fresh notice and lawful reconsideration.

Conclusion: The notice was quashed and the matter was remitted to the assessing authority for issuance of a fresh notice and passing of a fresh order in accordance with law.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded only to the extent of setting aside the impugned notice, with consequential fresh adjudication directed; the underlying tax dispute was left open for decision afresh.

Ratio Decidendi: An ex parte assessment under section 74 cannot be sustained unless the assessee is afforded the mandatory statutory period to respond, and a notice fixing a return date within that period vitiates the proceedings.

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