Vikas Industries Vs National E-Assessment Centre & Anr. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered a petition filed by Vikas Industries challenging an assessment order passed under Section 143(3) read with Section 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for AY 2021-22, along with a penalty notice under Section 274 read with Section 271AAD(1)(i). The petitioner had received a scrutiny notice on 15.12.2022 proposing variations to its return and was given only two days to respond. On 17.12.2022, the petitioner sought an adjournment on the ground that insufficient time had been provided. The petitioner further stated that it attempted several times on 21.12.2022 to upload its reply, but the portal was closed and the “submit response” option was unavailable. A grievance and email were thereafter submitted informing the respondents of the difficulty.
The petitioner contended that the assessment order was passed in violation of natural justice because adequate time was not granted and the adjournment request and attempted response were not considered. Reliance was placed on M/s. Advance Reality Developers v. National E-Assessment Centre, Delhi, where the Court had observed that a minimum of 15 days was a reasonable time for responding. The Revenue did not controvert the submissions and requested the Court to pass an appropriate order.
