HC Allows Assessee to Produce Register & Other Doc. Manually As Voluminous Details Can’t Be Submitted Online

Case Details: SP. SP1.41, Sammanthapuram Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society Ltd. v. Assessment Unit, Income-tax Department, National Faceless Assessment Centre - [2023] 155 taxmann.com 64 (Madras)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Mrs S. Srimathy, J.
  • D. Shanmugaraja Sethupathi for the Petitioner.
  • N. Dilipkumarfor the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The assessee-society was an agricultural credit society which was formed to lend loans to the members who were farmers. Assessing Officer (AO) initiated e-proceedings under Faceless Assessment scheme and issued notice under section 142(1).

Pursuant to said notice, assessee submitted details of transactions and other information sought by AO. Subsequently, AO issued a show cause notice with draft assessment directing assessee to submit their name and address along with PAN numbers of members. The final assessment order was passed when the assessee did not respond to show cause notice.

In the instant writ, the assessee challenged the impugned order on the ground that effective opportunity was not granted to the assessee.

High Court Held

The Madras High Court held that the revenue directed the assessee to submit the name and address along with the PAN numbers of the members. The contention of the assessee was that there are 3,000 members and it is voluminous documents; hence, the assessee was seeking a personal hearing to produce the register manually.

Due to the nature of faceless assessment, the revenue cannot consider the request made by the taxpayer. The High Court held that the taxpayer should be given another chance to provide the requested register and the other information sought by the revenue.