Bombay High Court passes strictures against Assessing Officer for ‘remarkable ineptitude’ and ‘gross abuse of process’; imposes costs for not considering Assessee’s reply to Draft Assessment Order and cutting & pasting the Draft Assessment Order in the Final Assessment Order.

The Writ Petition was filed by the Assessee against a Final Assessment Order passed by the National Faceless Assessment Centre without considering the response of the Assessee to the Draft Assessment Order and without granting an opportunity of being heard despite request from the Assessee. The Court noted that the final order was nothing but cut and pasted from the Draft Assessment Order.

The High Court remarked that the Court’s precious judicial time was wasted due to the ‘remarkable ineptitude’ of the Assessing Officer who passed the order. The Court passed strictures against the Assessing Officer for ‘total non-application of mind’ and ‘gross abuse of process’.

While quashing the final assessment order passed and remanding the matter for de novo consideration, the Court directed that a different assessing officer should pass the order within 8 weeks after giving the Petitioner an opportunity of being heard and as far as the assessing officer who passed the impugned final assessment order, he was directed to pay costs of Rs. 10,000/- from his personal account to the PM Cares Fund and file compliance affidavit in this regard. The Court also expressed that the parties concerned shall also take action against the Assessing Officer who passed the impugned order.

CORAM :- JUSTICE MR. K. R. SHRIRAM & JUSTICE MR. AMIT B. BORKAR