Draft assessment order requirement under section 144C is mandatory; omission made the final assessment void.

Section 144C(1) requires prior issuance of a draft assessment order to an eligible assessee before finalising the assessment. Where the assessee falls within section 144C(15) and no draft order is issued, the omission is a jurisdictional defect; it cannot be cured by section 292B. The final assessment order was therefore without jurisdiction, null and void, and was quashed, with the additional ground allowed.

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Issues: Whether the final assessment order was invalid and liable to be quashed for want of a draft assessment order under section 144C(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The assessee was an eligible assessee within the meaning of section 144C(15), and the assessment was completed without first issuing a draft assessment order. The absence of the draft assessment order was not disputed. The mandatory character of section 144C(1) required prior issuance of a draft assessment order before finalisation, and failure to follow that procedure constituted a jurisdictional defect. The defect could not be cured by section 292B. Accordingly, the final assessment order could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The final assessment order was held to be without jurisdiction, null and void, and was quashed. The additional ground was allowed.

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