Express Freight Consortium Vs Assessment Unit (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court examined a writ petition challenging a final assessment order and consequential demand notice dated 18 December 2025, passed without granting the petitioner an opportunity of hearing. The petitioner had received a draft assessment order on 6 November 2025 and filed objections before the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) on 5 December 2025. However, the petitioner did not forward a copy of those objections to the Assessing Officer (AO), proceeding on the bona fide belief that, in a faceless assessment regime, the DRP would transmit the objections to the AO.
Although the petitioner received a notice from the AO on 8 December 2025, no response was submitted, as the petitioner assumed that proceedings before the AO would remain in abeyance pending DRP consideration. Contrary to this expectation, the AO passed the final assessment order on 18 December 2025 under section 144C(4) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, presuming that no objections had been filed. The Department contended that since a final order had already been passed, the petitioner should pursue the appellate remedy instead of invoking writ jurisdiction.
The Court noted that section 144C(2)(b) of the Act requires an assessee to forward a copy of objections filed before the DRP to the AO as well. The petitioner admittedly failed to comply with this statutory requirement. Consequently, the AO was legally justified in presuming that no objections had been filed and in proceeding to pass the final order within the prescribed time. At the same time, the Court observed that the objections had in fact been filed before the DRP, and the lapse in forwarding a copy to the AO was a procedural breach that led to serious adverse consequences for the petitioner, including a demand without consideration of the objections.
