https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=7748 Section 28(3) requires that no penalty order be made unless the assessee has been heard or given a reasonable opportunity of being heard, and that requirement remains mandatory even where a successor Income-tax Officer continues the proceedings under section 5(7C). A hearing before the predecessor does not satisfy the statutory right where the successor is the officer who ultimately decides the matter, because the opportunity must be effective and meaningful before the deciding authority. The assessee's failure to seek reopening or rehearing under the proviso to section 5(7C) does not cure the absence of a fresh hearing. The penalty order was therefore invalid and was struck down in favour of the assessee. en-us Mon, 24 Mar 1969 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:43:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=7748 Section 28(3) requires that no penalty order be made unless the assessee has been heard or given a reasonable opportunity of being heard, and that requirement remains mandatory even where a successor Income-tax Officer continues the proceedings under section 5(7C). A hearing before the predecessor does not satisfy the statutory right where the successor is the officer who ultimately decides the matter, because the opportunity must be effective and meaningful before the deciding authority. The assessee's failure to seek reopening or rehearing under the proviso to section 5(7C) does not cure the absence of a fresh hearing. The penalty order was therefore invalid and was struck down in favour of the assessee. Case-Laws Income Tax Mon, 24 Mar 1969 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=7748