Legal Challenge: Tax Officer Must Issue Draft Order Before Final Assessment Under Section 144C, Protecting Taxpayer's Right to Representation

HC held that under Section 144C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Assessing Officer (AO) is mandatorily required to forward a draft assessment order to an eligible assessee when proposing variations prejudicial to the assessee's interests. In this case, the AO erroneously passed a final assessment order under Section 143(3) without following the prescribed procedure of issuing a draft order and providing an opportunity for representation. Consequently, the court remanded the matter, directing the AO to comply with Section 144C's procedural requirements, specifically forwarding a draft assessment order to the eligible assessee before finalizing the assessment, thereby ensuring procedural fairness and adherence to statutory provisions. .....

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