Procedural fairness in tax assessment necessitates consideration of an assessee's request for a personal hearing under the Income Tax Act.

JUDGMENT

Manmohan, J.: (Oral)--The petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

2. Present writ petition has been filed challenging the impugned assessment order dated 15th April, 2021 passed by the Respondents under Section 143(3) read with Sections 143(3A) & 143(3B) of Income Tax Act, 1961for the Assessment Year 2018-19 in the case of the Petitioner.

3. Learned counsel for the Petitioner states that the impugned assessment order has been passed without affording the petitioner due opportunity of being heard despite the Petitioner seeking a personal hearing.

4. He also states that a show cause notice dated 06th April, 2021 was issued to the Petitioner stating as to why the addition of Rs. 7,98,32,462/- pertaining to creditnotes and of Rs.5,32,00,000/- pertaining to interest on debentures should not be made in the ongoing assessment proceedings. He states that since the Petitioner was given time to reply to the said notice by 23:59 hours of 10th April, 2021, an adjournment was sought as the concerned Chartered Accountant had been diagnosed with Covid-19. He points out that subsequently,the income tax portal showed the next date of compliance as 15th April, 2021. He points out that the Petitioner filed a detailed reply on 15th April, 2021 to the aforesaid show cause notice dated 6th April, 2021 vide its reply dated 08th April, 2021 and specifically requested that in terms of the Faceless Assessment Scheme, a virtual hearing be granted to it through Video Conference, as the Petitioner wanted to present his case before the Respondent. He contends that on the very same date i.e. on 15th April, 2021, in violation of principles of natural justice and, without providing any video conferencing to the Petitioner as envisaged under Section 144B(7)(vii) of the Act and without considering the submission made by the Petitioner in reply to the show cause notice, the impugned assessment order under Section 143(3) read with sections 143(3A) & 143(3B) of the Income Tax Act was passed in the case of Petitioner making an aggregate addition of Rs. 13,30,32,462/-in an arbitrary manner and raising a huge demand of Rs. 5,25,87,030/-.

5. Per Contra, Mr. Sanjay Kumar, learned counsel for the Respondents, states that the expression used in clause (vii) of sub-section (7) of Section 144B of the Act is `may' and not `shall' and therefore,there is no vested right in the petitioner to claim a personal hearing.

6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties,this Court is of the view that Section 144B(7) provides for a personal hearing. The relevant portion of Sections 144B(7) and 144B(9) are reproduced hereinbelow:

"144B. Faceless assessment -

(1) xxx xxx xxx

(7) For the purposes of faceless assessment--

xxx xxx xxx

(vii) in a case where a variation is proposed in the draft assessment order or final draft assessment order or revised draft assessment order, and an opportunity is provided to the assessee by serving a notice calling upon him to show-cause as to why the assessment should not be completed as per the such draft or final draft or revised draft assessment order, the assessee or his authorised representative, as the case may be, may request for personal hearing so as to make his oral submissions or present his case before the income-tax authority in any unit;

(viii) the Chief Commissioner or the Director General, in charge of the Regional Faceless Assessment Centre, under which the concerned unit is set up, may approve the request for personal hearing referred to in clause (vii) if he is of the opinion that the request is covered by the circumstances referred to in sub-clause (h) of clause (xii);

xxx xxx xxx

(xii) the Pri