Reasonable opportunity in tax assessment justified remand, with pre-deposit and fresh hearing on mismatch-based demand.

An assessment was set aside where the taxpayer had not responded to the show cause notice or attended the personal hearing, and the dispute concerned a mismatch between the return filed and auto-populated return data. The court treated the lack of effective participation as warranting another opportunity to contest the demand on merits, while balancing that relief with a condition of pre-deposit. The matter was remanded for fresh consideration subject to payment of 10% of the disputed tax demand within the stipulated period, with liberty to file a reply and to receive a fresh order after reasonable opportunity, including personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the tax assessment order was liable to be set aside for want of reasonable opportunity and the matter remanded for fresh consideration subject to payment of a portion of the disputed tax.

Analysis: The assessment was confirmed because the taxpayer did not reply to the show cause notice or appear for the personal hearing, and the dispute related to mismatch between the returns filed and the auto-populated return data. In the circumstances, the absence of effective participation was treated as sufficient to warrant another opportunity to contest the demand on merits, while balancing the matter by imposing a condition of pre-deposit.

Conclusion: The impugned assessment was set aside and the matter remanded for reconsideration subject to payment of 10% of the disputed tax demand within the stipulated period, with liberty to file a reply and to receive a fresh order after reasonable opportunity including personal hearing.

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