Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited Vs Assessment Unit (Karnataka High Court)
The petitioner sought multiple reliefs, including quashing of the show cause notice dated 15.01.2025, the assessment order dated 06.03.2025 issued under Sections 144 and 144B for the assessment year 2023-24, the related computation sheet, demand notice under Section 156, and penalty notices issued under Sections 271AAC(1) and 272A(1)(d). The petitioner also sought any other appropriate orders.
The Court heard both parties and examined the materials on record. The petitioner argued that the show cause notice dated 27.01.2025 required the reply to be submitted by 31.01.2025 at 11:15 a.m., giving less than seven days to respond. It was contended that this was contrary to the Standard Operating Procedure prescribing a minimum of seven days to reply. Relying on a previous decision of a co-ordinate bench in Chowdapally Dattaprakash Ajay v. CBDT, the petitioner submitted that inadequate response time amounted to violation of natural justice, warranting the setting aside of the assessment order and related notices and remand of the matter from the stage of reply to the show cause notice.
In the cited case, the co-ordinate bench had held that issuing a show cause notice with a response time shorter than the prescribed seven days violated the SOP and principles of natural justice. In that matter, the assessment order and consequential notices were set aside, and the matter was remitted to allow the petitioner to file a reply, with the authority directed to proceed after granting full opportunity.
