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2018 (8) TMI 575 - HC - Income TaxNon issuance of the draft assessment order u/s 144C - whether after remand, it was necessary to issue a draft assessment order - Held that:- The issuance of a draft assessment order is not an empty formality. When a draft assessment order is passed and copy is given to the Assessee, the Assessee can raise objections before the Dispute Resolution Panel on any of the proposed variations. There is a right given to the Assessee to object, and to have the objections considered not by the Assessing Officer, but by the Dispute Resolution Panel. The Tribunal, by order dated 1 October 2012, set aside the entire exercise and the matter was relegated to the Assessing Officer. Once the matter was sent back to be decided afresh it went back to the stage of Section 144C(1) of the Act. Since the Tribunal set aside the proceedings on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice, the first exercise was void and without jurisdiction. Nothing remained on the record, including the draft assessment order. Therefore, issuance of a draft assessment order was necessary. We do not find from the scheme of Section 144C that if the proceedings were to be started a fresh on remand, the draft assessment order is not required to be given. Non issuance of the draft assessment order has thus vitiated the final assessment order. The view taken by the Tribunal in the impugned order that for want of issuance of draft order, the assessment order is without jurisdiction, cannot be faulted with. No substantial question of law
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