TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 1674
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....e-tax Act, 1961 ("the Act"), the consequential notice of demand dated 20th March 2026 and the consequential Show Cause Notice dated 11th March 2026 issued under section 274 read with section 270A of the Act. 3. At the outset, the learned Counsel for the Petitioner fairly states that, in order to save limitation, the Petitioner has filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), National Faceless Appeal Centre, on 17th April 2026. The said fact is duly disclosed in the Petition. The learned Counsel states that the said appeal shall be withdrawn, if the present Petition is allowed. 4. The Assessment Order is challenged principally on the ground that it has been passed in gross violation of the principles of natural just....
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....der, it has been stated that the Petitioner had not complied with the Show Cause Notice as well as with the notice issued under section 142(1) of the Act. It is submitted that although the reply filed pursuant to the video-conferencing notice dated 17th March 2026 has been considered, the earlier submissions dated 9th March 2026 and 13th March 2026 have not been considered. d) Lastly, it is submitted that a notice of personal hearing was issued on 17th March 2026 at 11:34 a.m., informing the Petitioner that the personal hearing was scheduled on the very same day at 12:30 p.m., that is, within approximately one hour. Despite the short notice, the Petitioner made an attempt to attend the scheduled personal hearing. However, the heari....
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....ssued under section 142(1) of the Act [dated 23rd February 2026] has not been considered at all. The acknowledgement evidencing the filing of the said reply appears at pages 169, 171 and 173 of the paper book. The acknowledgement duly records the hash value of the submission. As per section 144B(6)(xii) of the Act where an acknowledgement is sent by the National Faceless Assessment Centre containing the hash result generated upon successful submission of the response, such response is deemed to be authenticated. In these circumstances, it was an error on the part of the Assessing Officer to have failed to consider the said submission, and on the contrary, to record in the Show Cause Notice dated 11th March 2026 [which was issued subsequent ....
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....s that a subsequent response filed on 17th March 2026 has been considered at page 381 of the paper book. This raises serious doubts regarding the manner in which the assessment proceedings were conducted. If, according to the Assessing Officer, no reply had been filed by the Petitioner in response to the Show Cause Notice, nothing prevented the Assessing Officer from issuing a reminder or granting a further opportunity to the Petitioner. There was no apparent urgency which warranted passing the Assessment Order without considering the replies already filed on record. d) Lastly, although a personal hearing was granted, the same could not take place on account of technical glitches. The Petitioner raised the issue and brought the gri....
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....pite alternate statutory remedies, is not affected in a case where the authority against whom the Writ is filed has violated principles of natural justice. Not entertaining a Writ Petition where statutory remedies are available, is really one of self-restraint, and it can never be argued that the Writ Petition is not maintainable. We, therefore, do not find any merit in the argument canvassed on behalf of the Revenue. 9. In view of the aforesaid discussion, the impugned Assessment Order dated 20th March 2026 is, accordingly, quashed and set aside. Consequently, the notice of demand dated 20th March 2026 and the consequential Show Cause Notice issued under section 274 read with section 270A of the Act are also quashed and set aside. 10....