Valid service of statutory notice is mandatory before best judgment assessment; absence of proof renders the order unsustainable.

Best judgment assessments under Section 62 require proof that the statutory notice was actually served in the manner prescribed by Section 169. Where the record shows only reference to notices but no material establishing valid service on the taxable person, the mandatory precondition for proceeding under Section 62 is not satisfied. On that basis, the HC quashed the assessment orders as unsustainable and directed the assessing authority to reconsider the matter after issuing a fresh statutory notice, if warranted.

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Issues: Whether the best judgment assessment orders passed under Section 62 were liable to be quashed for want of proof that the statutory notice was served on the taxable person in the manner prescribed by law.

Analysis: The assessment orders referred to notices, but the record did not show any material establishing actual service of the statutory notices on the petitioner. The absence of proof of service, coupled with the requirement that notice be served through the modes contemplated under Section 169, meant that the mandatory precondition for proceeding under Section 62 was not satisfied. In the absence of evidence of valid service, the assessment orders could not be sustained as lawful best judgment assessments.

Conclusion: The impugned assessment orders were held invalid and were quashed, with a direction to the assessing authority to reconsider the matter after issuing a fresh statutory notice, if warranted.

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