TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (3) TMI 532
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....of the Act without providing adequate opportunity of being heard. b. Pending hearing and final decision of the writ petition, to stay assessment order and consequent demand of Rs. 3,05,74,515/-. c. Pass any other order(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and more appropriate in order to grant interim relief to the Petitioner; d. Any other and further relief deemed just and proper be granted in the interest of justice. e. To provide for the cost of this petition." 2. The facts in brief giving rise to this litigation may be summarized as follows: 2.1 The writ applicant is engaged in the business of real estate. During the year under consideration i.e. A.Y. 2018-19, the writ applicant filed his return of income declaring total ....
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....n, proceeded to pass the final order of assessment assessing the total income of the writ applicant under Section 143(3) of the Act to the tune of Rs. 2,80,70,000/-. 3. Being dissatisfied with the impugned assessment order, the writ applicant is here before this Court with the present writ application. 4. We have heard Mr. Hardik Vora, learned counsel appearing for the writ applicant and Ms. Kalpana Raval, learned senior standing counsel appearing for the revenue. 4.1. The principal argument canvassed on behalf of the writ applicant is that the impugned order passed by the Assessing Officer is in gross violation of the principles of natural justice as, despite a specific request been made to provide the writ applicant with an opportunity....
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....aring for the revenue. Ms. Raval would submit that the impugned assessment order has been passed after due consideration of all the relevant aspects as pointed out by the assessee in his reply to the show cause notice. She would submit that it is not obligatory on the part of the Assessing Officer to provide a personal hearing. She would submit that if all the assessee would start insisting or requesting for personal hearing without any valid ground, then the very object with which this entire concept of faceless assessment has been introduced by virtue of Section 144B would be frustrated. The assessee may be justified in requesting for a personal hearing only in the rarest of rare cases, more particularly, if there are complex issues invol....
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....cant and it has been observed that the National E-Assessment Centre, Delhi had issued final show cause notice to the applicant on 07th April, 2021 and the date of hearing was clearly mentioned as 'on or before 11th April, 2021'. Annexed herewith and marked as 'Annexure Rl' is a copy of entire order sheet. 8. As per order sheet entry, after 07th April, 2021, no other show cause notice was issued by the National E-Assessment Centre, Delhi to the applicant requiring him to furnish any details or explanation with regard to finalization of assessment order. The applicant has also responded to the show cause notice on 10th April, 2021. Thereafter, the assessment order was passed by the Assessing Officer at National E-Assessment ....
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....uld have been undertaken and if the lenders would have been confronted about such loan transactions, then probably the picture would have been more clear. 8. Over and above the aforesaid infirmity in the impugned assessment order, there is one another good ground on which we are inclined to quash the impugned assessment order. Once a request is made by the assessee before the Assessing Officer to give him an opportunity of hearing having regard to the fact that the assessment is high-pitch assessment, then ordinarily such an opportunity should be given so that the assessee may not get a chance to redress the grievance before the higher forum that he was not given adequate opportunity of hearing. It would all depend on the nature of the iss....