TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 970
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....1. 2. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned Senior Standing Counsel Mr. Karan Sanghani waives service of notice of rule on behalf of respondent. Having regard to the controversy in narrow compass, with the consent of learned advocates for the respective parties the matter is taken up for hearing. 3. By this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the Assessment Order dated 20.09.2021 for the Assessment Year 2018-19 passed under Section 143 (3) read with Section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act") along with the demand notice under Section 156 of the Act on the ground that the petitioner has not been provided opportunity of hearing through video conference. 4. Therefore, We en....
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.... in person. 5.5. The petitioner received a letter dated 27.07.2021 from the respondent no. 1, intimating the date of personal hearing on 25.06.2021. As the said intimation contained the previous date, no video conferencing could take place and realizing such mistake, the respondent no. 1 sent another letter dated 13.08.2021 to the petitioner intimating date of the video conferencing on 17.08.2021 at 02.15 p.m. On 17.08.2021, no video conference could take place because of technical difficulty. Thereafter, another date was intimated to the petitioner on 03.09.2021, fixing the video conference on 10.09.2021 at 10.15 a.m.. 5.6. On 10.09.2021, the petitioner again entered into video conferencing facility. It is the case of the petitioner that....
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....ent department about the reason for not joining the video conference on 10.09.2021 after failure of the department to conduct the video conferencing on two previous dates, no further communication was received by the assessee and straightaway the impugned assessment order was passed reiterating the proposed addition suggested in the draft assessment order. It was therefore submitted that in order to comply with the principles of natural justice, the impugned order may be quashed and set aside and the matter may be remanded back to the Assessing Officer to pass a fresh de novo order after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner through video conferencing. 7. On the other hand learned Senior Standing Counsel Mr. Karan Sanghani for....
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.... by re-arranging another video conferencing and intimating that the password is contained in the letter of intimation only. 9. Be that as it may, on the facts recorded here in above, it is not in dispute that there is no adherence to the principles of natural justice by not providing opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner before passing the impugned assessment order. It is true that for the Assessment Year under consideration i.e. 2018-19 there was no mandatory requirement for providing video conferencing. However, as the respondents have approved the video conferencing for the petitioner and on two earlier occasions, such video conferencing could not take place due to the technical difficulties on the part of the respondent Dep....