Consideration of reply under Section 148A must include material filed before the order, even if late under the notice.

Section 148A(c) requires the Assessing Officer to consider any reply furnished in response to a notice under Section 148A(b), and it does not impose an additional condition that the reply must be filed only within the time stated in the notice. Where the assessee's reply and supporting documents were filed before the Section 148A(d) order, failure to consider them and the incorrect assumption that no reply had been filed rendered the order unsustainable. The connected notice under Section 148, assessment order, demand notice and penalty notice were quashed, with liberty to file further reply or documents for fresh consideration.

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Issues: Whether an order under Section 148A(d) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 can be sustained when the assessee's reply and documents, though filed after the time mentioned in the notice under Section 148A(b), were filed before the order and were not considered.

Analysis: Section 148A(c) requires the Assessing Officer to consider the reply furnished, if any, in response to the notice under Section 148A(b), and does not add a further condition that the reply must be filed only within the time allowed in the notice. Since the reply was filed before the order under Section 148A(d), the observation that no reply had been filed at all was factually incorrect. The impugned order proceeded on an erroneous premise and the reply ought to have been considered before concluding the proceedings.

Conclusion: The challenge succeeded on this limited ground. The order under Section 148A(d), the consequential notice under Section 148, the assessment order, and the connected demand and penalty notices were quashed, with liberty to the assessee to file further reply or documents and for fresh consideration thereafter.

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