ISOLUX CORSAN INDIA ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION (P.) LTD. Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CIRCLE 1(1)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CM-12302-2014

(2.) Prayer in this petition, is to quash order dated 30.03.2014 (Annexure P-1), passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-I(1), Gurgaon, under Section 142(2A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), directing the petitioner to get its accounts audited from M/s S.S.Kothari Mehta & Company, New Delhi.

(3.) Counsel for the petitioner submits that apart from the fact that the impugned order does not assign any reason for arriving at the conclusion and/or issuing directions, to get account books audited, order dated 30.03.2014 has been passed in gross and blatant violation of the first proviso to Section 142(2A) of the Act which mandates the grant of an opportunity of hearing to an assessee before an order is passed requiring an assessee to get its accounts audited from an auditor to be nominated by the assessing officer. Apart from the aforesaid submissions, counsel for the petitioner submits that vide order dated 24.03.2014 the petitioner/assessee was called upon to file a reply positively by 11 AM on 27.03.2014. The reply was filed before 11 AM on 27.03.2014 but an opportunity of hearing, as required by the first proviso to Section 142(2A) of the Act was not afforded to the petitioner much less, was the petitioner called upon to clarify averments in the reply. A perusal of the interim orders, appended with the reply proves that before the impugned order was passed an opportunity of hearing was not afforded to the petitioner. The impugned order is not only null and void for failure to afford an opportunity of hearing but for absence of a perceptible process of reasoning much less any reason assigned in support of the direction to the petitioner to get its accounts audited from an auditor nominated by the assessing officer.