The Madras High Court quashed a faceless assessment order passed by not granting an opportunity of hearing on clicking inappropriate button during video conference.
The Writ Petition was filed challenging the order of assessment for the Assessment Year 2018-2019 on the limited ground that despite a specific request for personal hearing made by the petitioner and expressing his difficulty in availing the opportunity of personal hearing through video conference, personal hearing was not granted, on the premise that the petitioner had not clicked on the Assessee Request Button/Icon and also not filled up the “Box of agenda of VC”.
The first respondent, stated that the petitioner has not clicked on “Assessee Request” and also not filled up the box of agenda of VC and that was the reason why the personal hearing through video conference was not extended and therefore, requested the petitioner to once again click on the “Assessee Request” and seek a personal hearing, failing which it would be considered that video conference was not required.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that under similar circumstances, the High Court had held that mere failure on the part of the petitioner / assessee to click on the request button does not by itself indicate that personal hearing is not required, more so, in the present case, when the petitioner has expressed difficulty in making the request for personal hearing through web portal.
The counsel for the respondents submitted that the petitioner, as suggested by the authorities, ought to have clicked on the “Assessee Request” and the Box for video conference. Having failed to do so, the petitioner cannot find fault in the assessing officer for not granting personal hearing.
A Single Bench of Justice Mohammed Shaffiq observed that “I find there is merit in the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner, since under identical circumstances, this Court has already held that personal hearing ought to have been extended, though the petitioner assessee might have failed in clicking on the appropriate button.”
“In view of the same, the impugned order is set aside. The assessment order shall be passed after affording the petitioner reasonable opportunity and personal hearing through video conference. The above exercise shall be carried out within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order” the Court directed.
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