Failure to consider a duly filed adjournment request vitiates assessment for breach of natural justice.

The petitioners challenged a final assessment order dated 18 March 2021, alleging that it was passed without considering their request for an adjournment and without giving them an effective opportunity to respond to the draft assessment.

The draft assessment and show-cause notice were served on 9 March 2021, requiring compliance by 11 March 2021.

The petitioners uploaded an adjournment request on 11 March, seeking time until 25 March; the portal recorded the request as open.

A later communication from the Income Tax Department indicated that the request was inwarded in ITBA only on 29 April 2021.

The final assessment order stated that no response had been filed and proceeded on the basis of the draft assessment.

Whether the final assessment order was liable to be set aside because the petitioners’ adjournment request was not considered before the assessment was completed.

Whether the petitioners should be afforded an opportunity to respond to the show-cause notice and present their case on remand.

The Court applied the principles of natural justice, including the requirement that a person affected by an assessment be given a meaningful opportunity to present their case before a final decision is made.

No statute or judicial precedent was expressly cited in the judgment.

The portal records showed that the petitioners had submitted an adjournment request on 11 March 2021, seeking time until 25 March, and the Department’s communication confirmed that the request was not inwarded in ITBA until 29 April.

The Court concluded that the request had not been placed before the Assessing Officer when the final assessment was made. Consequently, the assessment proceeded on the mistaken basis that no response had been filed, without the petitioners receiving an effective opportunity to address the proposed assessment. This was inconsistent with the principles of natural justice.

The petitioners were permitted to raise limitation at the hearing, and the assessment exercise was directed to be completed within 12 weeks.