Service of show cause notice: ensure proper notice and opportunity before tax orders; fresh notice and reasoned hearing required.
Proper service and transparent consideration of assessee replies are procedural prerequisites before passing tax assessment orders. Where portal non-reflection of notices and uncertainty about consideration of replies arises, the assessee is entitled to benefit of doubt. The court required that the impugned order be treated as a notice for filing a written reply within a short period, directed issuance of a fresh notice in the prescribed manner with a clear minimum notice period, mandated the assessee's appearance, and obliged the assessing officer to pass a reasoned and speaking order within a defined timeframe after valid service.