AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (6) TMI 447
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.... as under: "The Appellant has filed an appeal against the order passed on 30.03.2015 by the Assessing Officer u/s 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Notice u/s 250 was served on the appellant as well as on the AO. In this case, notice u/s 250 was issued on 26.10.2016 by which date of hearing was fixed on 10.11.2016 however, neither anybody attended nor any written reply was received on the date of hearing. Therefore, fresh notice dated 19.12.2016 and 30.01.2017 was issued but there was no compliance on the part of the appellant. Since there is no compliance during the appellant proceedings and there is no new fact/details available for consideration, I do not find any infirmity in the AO's order. Therefo....
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....ned by the AO in his notice u/s 142(1). The learned AR submitted that after the submission of the aforesaid details, the assessee received only one summon dated 19.03.2015 wherein the assessee company had to produce the managing director before the AO on 30.03.2015 when the fact was that the very next day, i.e. 31.03.2015, the assessment was getting time barred. However, pursuant to the notice of the AO, the Managing Director appeared before the AO on 30.03.2015 but was told that the assessment was already framed and assessment order has been passed. The learned AR submitted that though the AO in the assessment order referred to section 131 notice being sent through speed post to all the 16 subscribers from whom share subscription amounts w....
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....equisitioned by the AO, however, the AO's order is conspicuously silent on this aspect. The learned AR further submitted that even though the AO required the share applicants to provide information and documents by issuing notice u/s 133(6) and 131 of the Act, the assessee were totally kept in the dark and the enquiries were conducted behind the back of the assessee. According to the assessee before the addition of Rs. 7.73 crores were made, no show cause notice were issued to the appellant requiring appellant to furnish any explanation. The learned AR pointed out that although notice u/s 131 of the Act was issued to the Managing Director of the appellant company requiring personal appearances and that too on the penultimate day of the limi....
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....e with the Tribunal and the High Court that it was not necessary to set aside the order of assessment and remand the matter to the assessing authority for fresh assessment after giving to the assessee a proper opportunity of being heard. 3. Two questions were placed before the High Court, of which the second question is not pressed. The first question reads thus : "1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in not setting aside the assessment order in spite of a finding arrived at by it that the Income-tax Officer had not given a proper opportunity of hearing to the assessee ?" 4. In our opinion, there can only be one answer to this question which is inherent in the q....
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....out the information gathered by him in terms of section 133(6) of the Act. The AO is no doubt an authority appointed by the Parliament to exercise statutory powers to ascertain the income of a subject and the tax payable by him to the State. Wide though his powers are, the AO must act in consonance with Rule of Natural Justice. One such Rule is that he shall not use any material against the assessee without giving him (assessee) an opportunity to meet it. In short, the AO cannot assess by keeping the assessee in dark as to the materials against him. 7. We would like to clarify that the assessment proceedings are purely administrative proceedings and so AO can make private enquiries even behind the back of the assessee, as they are all ad....