Monika Jaiswal Vs Union of India & Anr. (Calcutta High Court)
In the case of Monika Jaiswal Vs Union of India & Anr., the Calcutta High Court addressed a significant procedural issue related to tax assessment under Section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The petitioner challenged the assessment order dated 26th March 2024, arguing that it was invalid due to insufficient time provided to respond to the show cause notice. The show cause notice was issued on 15th March 2024, and the petitioner was given until 11 a.m. on 19th March 2024 to respond, which amounted to less than one working day. The petitioner contended that this limited timeframe violated the statutory requirement of providing a reasonable opportunity to respond.
The Court noted that, as per Section 144B(6)(vii) of the Income Tax Act, the respondent is obligated to afford a proper opportunity for personal hearing if requested. However, in this case, although a mechanism for requesting a personal hearing through the e-filing portal was available, the petitioner did not utilize it within the specified time. Despite this, the Court found that the time provided for responding to the show cause notice was inadequate. The Court observed that the procedural norms, as outlined in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) dated 3rd August 2022, require a minimum of seven days’ response time, which had not been adhered to.
