The Petitioner filed a writ petition challenging the notice issued u/s 148, order rejecting objections and the assessment order, inter alia on the ground that the Petitioner was denied the opportunity of a personal hearing. The Petitioner claimed to have logged into the portal well ahead of the scheduled time, but the hearing did not commence. Therefore, the Petitioner sought a second opportunity for a hearing. However, the AO alleged that the Petitioner had not attended the scheduled personal hearing and also, denied a second opportunity for a personal hearing on the ground that the assessment was getting time-barred.

The Karnataka High Court accepted the evidence provided by the Petitioner regarding its timely attendance of the personal hearing through video conference and the fact that the personal hearing had not commenced at the scheduled time. The High Court further observed that the Revenue had no evidence to contradict the same. Therefore, the High Court directed another opportunity for a personal hearing extended to the Petitioner in line with the Faceless Assessment Scheme. The assessment order was thus set aside