Right to be heard: assessment set aside where personal hearing request was denied due to technical e button omission.

A High Court held that an assessment under the Income-tax Act issued without affording a personal hearing despite a specific written request violated the principles of natural justice; the court declined to treat strict use of a prescribed electronic 'seek video conferencing' button as an absolute precondition when the assessee otherwise invoked a right to be heard. The court applied the principle that once the right to be heard is validly invoked, the Assessing Officer must afford an opportunity and not deny it on hyper technical grounds, set aside the assessment, and remitted the matter for fresh adjudication after affording hearing by video conferencing.

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Issues: Whether an assessment order passed under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 which is issued without affording an assessee a personal hearing despite a specific written request violates the principles of natural justice and requires setting aside of the assessment.

Analysis: The Court noted that the assessee specifically requested an opportunity for personal hearing in its written reply to the show-cause notice and that the Assessing Officer proceeded to pass the final assessment order without affording such hearing. The Court considered whether strict compliance with a specified mode (clicking a "seek video conferencing" button) in the show-cause notice could be treated as a condition that completely precludes granting a hearing by any other compliant means. The Court referred to and followed prior High Court decisions which held that an assessee's request for personal hearing must be honoured and that denying a hearing on the ground of non-use of a prescribed electronic button amounted to an impermissible technical curtailment of the assessee's right to be heard. The Court observed that oral or video-conferencing hearing is not an absolute right in every case, but once a right to be heard is invoked in the manner used by the assessee, the Assessing Officer must afford an opportunity and should not refuse it on hyper-technical grounds. The Court left all factual and substantive issues open for fresh adjudication by the Assessing Officer after affording the hearing.

Conclusion: The assessment order dated March 20, 2025 passed under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 is set aside for violation of the principles of natural justice for having been passed without affording the personal hearing requested by the assessee; the matter is remitted to the Assessing Officer to pass a fresh assessment after affording an opportunity of hearing by video conferencing.

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