Hansgrohe India Pvt. Ltd. Vs Assessment Unit Income Tax Dept. & Others (Bombay High Court)
This writ petition before the Bombay High Court challenged a final assessment order dated 2 February 2026 passed under Sections 143(3) read with 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Year 2023–24.
The petitioner’s primary grievance was that it qualified as an “eligible assessee” under Section 144C(15)(b)(i) because the transaction involved was an international transaction. As such, before passing any final assessment order prejudicial to the assessee, the Assessing Officer was required to first issue a draft assessment order. This draft order would allow the assessee to file objections before the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) as mandated under Section 144C. The petitioner argued that failure to issue such a draft order rendered the final assessment order invalid.
The Revenue did not dispute that issuing a draft assessment order was necessary in this case. It conceded that the final assessment order would have to be set aside on this ground. However, the Revenue proposed two alternatives: first, that the final assessment order be treated as a draft assessment order to allow the petitioner to approach the DRP; or second, that the matter be remanded back to the Assessing Officer to pass a fresh draft assessment order following the procedure under Section 144B. The Revenue also argued that Section 144B might apply instead of Section 144C in the case of an Indian company.
