Faceless assessment requires effective personal hearing; a technical glitch that blocks hearing can vitiate the order for breach of natural justice.

In faceless assessment, an effective personal hearing must be afforded when sought by the assessee. Here, the assessee responded to the section 142(1) notice, sought video-conference hearing, and the scheduled hearing failed because of a technical glitch; no meaningful opportunity was then given before the order was passed. The Gujarat HC held that this amounted to breach of natural justice and denial of fair hearing, so the assessment order was quashed and the matter remanded to the competent authority for fresh adjudication after granting personal hearing through video conferencing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was liable to be quashed for denial of effective opportunity of personal hearing and breach of natural justice in the faceless assessment process.

Analysis: The notice process showed that the assessee had responded to the requisition under section 142(1), but no further action was taken for more than three months and a show-cause notice was issued only a few days before limitation. The assessee sought a personal hearing through video conferencing, the hearing link was accessed, and the hearing could not take place because of a technical glitch. The surrounding circumstances showed that the opportunity of hearing, though sought and scheduled, was not effectively granted before the assessment order was passed.

Conclusion: The assessment order was quashed and the matter was remanded to the competent authority from the stage of granting personal hearing through video conferencing.

Final Conclusion: The impugned assessment did not survive for want of a fair hearing, and the proceeding was sent back for fresh adjudication after compliance with the hearing requirement.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a personal hearing is sought in faceless assessment and the hearing fails because of a technical glitch, the resulting denial of effective opportunity violates natural justice and vitiates the assessment order.

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