Court Treats Assessment Order as Draft, Allows Objections; Vacates Interim Order, Clears Path for Challenge.

The HC disposed of the writ petition by agreeing to treat the impugned assessment order dated 20.04.2021 as a draft assessment order. This allowed the petitioner to file objections within the statutory period of 30 days. The court vacated the interim order dated 19.05.2021, which was made absolute on 10.01.2023, and directed the parties to proceed based on the digitally signed order. References to the initiation of penalty proceedings were removed, providing the petitioner a clear path to challenge the assessment.

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Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are challenging the assessment order dated 20.04.2021 passed by the Assessing Officer under Section 143(3) read with Sections 144C(1) and 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2017-18, as well as the demand notice issued under Section 156 of the Act and the notices for initiation of penalty proceedings under Section 274 read with Sections 270A, 271AA, 271G & 271BA of the Act.

Assessment Order Challenge:
The writ petition sought to challenge the assessment order dated 20.04.2021 passed by the Assessing Officer under the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2017-18. The petitioner contended that although the order seemed like a draft assessment order, it actually had attributes of a final assessment order, thus emasculating the statutory remedy of filing objections with the Dispute Resolution Panel. The respondent agreed to treat the impugned assessment order as a draft assessment order, allowing the petitioner to file objections within the statutory period of 30 days. Consequently, the order was treated as a draft assessment order, removing references to the initiation of penalty proceedings, and the petitioner was granted liberty to file objections within 30 days.

Disposition of the Writ Petition:
The writ petition was disposed of with the impugned assessment order being treated as a draft assessment order, allowing the petitioner to file objections within 30 days. The interim order dated 19.05.2021, made absolute on 10.01.2023, was vacated, and parties were directed to act based on the digitally signed copy of the order.

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