Gandhi Realty (India) Private Limited v. Assistant/Joint/Deputy/Assitant Commissioner Of Income Tax/Income Tax Officer

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 7662 of 2021 ==========================================================GANDHI REALTY (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED VersusASSISTANT/JOINT/DEPUTY/ASSITANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOMETAX/INCOME TAX OFFICER ========================================================== Appearance:MR B S SOPARKAR(6851) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1MRS MAUNA M BHATT(174) for the Respondent(s) No. 1 ========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANIandHONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJENDRA M. SAREEN Date : 05/10/2021ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI) 1.The petitioner, by way of this petition under Article226 of the Constitution of India, challenges order passed bythe respondent under section 143(3) read with section 144Bof the Income Tax Act (hereinafter shall be referred to as“the Act” for convenience), whereby the income of thepetitioner is assessed for the A.Y. 2018-19 vide its orderdated 20.04.2021 and made substantial addition. 2.Brief facts leading to the present petition are asfollowed. 2.1. The petitioner is a limited Company and is in thebusiness of real estate business. For the A.Y. 1018-19 on20.10.2018, it filed its return of income at loss of Rs.16.34Crores (rounded off). 2.2. During the financial year, 2018, two companiesnamely M/s.Gandhi Reality India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Crystal Organisers Pvt. Ltd. Were amalgamated with companynamed Ms/J.B. Realities Pvt. Ltd. by virtue of the order ofthe National Company Law Tribunal dated 22.10.2018.Then the name of the company was changed to the presentpetitioner named M/s.Gandhi Reality India Pvt. Ltd. 2.3. The case of the petitioner was selected for scrutiny.Notice u/s 143(2) of the Act was issued on 22.09.2019 toscrutinize the income from real estate business. Anothernotice u/s 142(1) of the Act was issued on 03.02.2021. On07.10.2019, 07.01.2020, 03.03.2021 and 15.03.2021 thepetitioner provided the basic information and requested forspecific details to be supplied. 2.4. The respondent passed the assessment order withoutissuing any show cause notice to the petitioner on20.04.2021 making addition of income on two issuestotaling to Rs.21,78,90,087/-. 2.5. According to the petitioner, the impugned order u/s144(3) r.w.s. 144B of the Act being illegal, deservesquashment. 2.6. The prayer sought for are as follows: “7. The Petitioner, therefore, prays that this Hon'bleCourt be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus or a writin the nature of mandamous or a writ of certiorari or awrit in nature of certiorari or any other writ, direction ororder and be pleased to: (a) quash and set aside the impugned order atAnnexure- 'A' to this Petition; (b) pending the admission, hearing and finaldisposal of this petition, to stay implementationand operation of the order at Annexure- 'A' to thispetition and stay recovery of tax for A.Y. 2018-19; (c) any other and further relief deemed just andproper be granted in the interest of justice;” 3.On issuance of notice by this Court on 15.06.2021, therespondent appeared and Affidavit-in-reply has been filed byJoint Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle-I, Rajkot denyingall the averments. According to the respondent, thepetitioner has remedy of filing statutory appeal undersection 253 of the Act before the CIT (Appeals) andthereafter under section 246 of the Act, it has recourse ofapproaching the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. With thisalternative efficacious remedy, the petition is notsustainable. 3.1. It is further contended that the order under section144B is challenged on the ground that the procedure laiddown under the said provision has not been followed whileframing the assessment and thus, there is violation ofprovision of law and the same has been empatheticallydenied. 3.1. It is further contended that the order under section144B is challenged on the ground that the procedure laiddown under the said provision has not been followed whileframing the assessment and thus, there is violation ofprovision of law and the same has been empatheticallydenied. 3.2. According to the respondent, chronology of dates andevents given in the reply demonstrates that the due procedure under section 144B has been followed asrequired under the law. 3.3. According to the respondent, the return of income hasbeen filed by the assessee company claiming loss on30.10.2018 and the return was selected for scrutiny andnotice under section 143(2) of the Act was issued on22.09.2019 where date of hearing was fixed on 07.10.2019. 3.4. In response to the notice dated 22.09.2019, theassessee responded on 07.10.2019 and provided details, thedetailed note on ICDS compliance and adjustment withexplanation and justification had been attached and it alsorequested for adjournment for 30 days for providing thedetails. 3.5. The assessee under communication dated 06.11.2019requested for further adjournment of 30 days forpreparation of compilation. 3.6. On 06.12.2019, the assessee again referred to thenotice dated 22.09.2019 u/s.143(2) and requested forfurther time of 30 days for preparation. 3.7. Again on 07.01.2020, referring to the details suppliedunder its letter dated 07.10.2019, it inquired about furtherdetails to be supplied. 3.8. On 13.10.2020 the case of the assessee wastransferred from A.O. to Regional E-Assessment Unit and on15.10.2020 the assessee was informed about the transfer of the proceedings to National Faceless Assessment Centre(“NFAC” for short). 3.9. On 04.01.2021, communication was issued undersection 142(1) serving notice upon the assessee by RegionalRe-Assessment Unit. 3.10. Notice was issued on 03.02.2021 under section 142(1)by NFAC. 3.11.The assessee responded to the notice on 03.02.2021and also communicated that the details required are underpreparation and hence requested for adjournment for 7days. 3.12. Point-wise communication had been submitted on05.03.2021 along with the documents where details inrelation to the loan and advances of GSM Enterprise hadbeen supplied. 3.13. Thereafter, on 10.03.2021 adjournment request for aperiod of 5 days was made by the petitioner to providefurther details and on 17.03.2021, point-wise informationand documents had been furnished. 3.14. On 08.04.2021 Draft Assessment Order was placedfor approval. According to the respondent, the said orderhad been served upon the assessee under communicationdated 12.04.2021. The Draft Assessment Order along withcomputation-sheet also was forwarded to the assessee andthe assessment under section 143(3) read with section 144B dated 20.04.2021 along with the Demand Notice has beenserved upon the petitioner. 3.15. It is claimed by the respondent that procedurecontemplated under the provisions of section 144B has beenduly complied with and from the date of issuance of noticeunder section 143(2) dated 22.09.2019 sufficientopportunities were granted to the assessee acceding to itsrequest and hence, there is no question of any violation ofprinciples of natural justice. The order of assessmentraising demand of Rs.2.06 Crores (rounded off) was passedin terms of the provisions of the Act and with the remedy ofappeal, this Court may not entertain the petition. 4.Affidavit-in-rejoinder has been filed by the Director ofthe petitioner where it has seriously questioned thecontention of alternative remedy on the ground that theassessment order which is impugned in this proceeding, isstatutory invalidated and the order has been passed withoutjurisdiction. According to the petitioner, the Commissionerof Income Tax (Appeals) has no power to set aside the orderand remand back the matter to the A.O. to frame a freshassessment. 4.Affidavit-in-rejoinder has been filed by the Director ofthe petitioner where it has seriously questioned thecontention of alternative remedy on the ground that theassessment order which is impugned in this proceeding, isstatutory invalidated and the order has been passed withoutjurisdiction. According to the petitioner, the Commissionerof Income Tax (Appeals) has no power to set aside the orderand remand back the matter to the A.O. to frame a freshassessment. 4.1. It further contended that the Draft Order is neverserved upon the petitioner prior to the issuance of the finalassessment order on 20.04.2021, as contended by therespondent. The Portal of the Income Tax Department alsodoes not reflect any order dated 12.04.2021 to exist.According to the petitioner, the Income Tax Website hasfunctionally to check date wise the notice, letters and orders issued. Even using the functionality when checked by thepetitioner, it is seen that no notice, letter or order is issueddated 12.04.2021. it is literately emphasized by thepetitioner that such Draft Order has never been issued andcommunicated to the petitioner. To substantiate, seramshotfrom the Web Portal of the Income Tax Departmentreflecting datewise search for the notice, letter or order isannexed with the petition. 4.2. The related provisions of section 144B and Circulardated 14.08.2019 obligating the requirement that everycommunication by the Income Tax Department to theassessee would bare a unique Document IdentificationNumber (“DIN” for short) without which the communicationis deemed to not exist, is pressed into service. Hence it isurged that what has been mandated under section 144B ofthe Act has not been complied with. 5.We have extensively heard submissions of learnedadvocate Mr.B.S. Soparkar. He has taken us through thepleadings, law on the subject and the scheme of the Act. Hehas also relied on the following three decisions : [1]Radha Krishan Industries Versus State of HimachalPradesh and others, reported in 2021 SCC Online SC 334. [2]McKinsey & Co. Inc. Versus Union of India, reported in[2010] 324 ITR 367 (Bombay) and [3]Engineering Professional Co.(P). Ltd. Versus DeputyCommissioner of Income Tax, Circle1(1)(1), reported in [2020] 424 ITR 253 (Gujarat). 5.1. Mr.Soparkar has empathetically urged that there hasbeen a reiterative emphasise on the part of the petitionerthat the Draft Assessment order which is mandatorilycontemplated under the statute has not been supplied. 5.02. The respondent has never issued a show cause noticesubsequent to receiving of the information and thereforeframing of assessment without issuance of show causenotice as well as Draft Assessment Order is in clearviolation of the statutory provisions and the principles ofnatural justice. The entire addition, according to him, is badin law and therefore, he urged this Court to quash and setaside the order of Assessment. 6.Per contra, learned Senior Standing CounselMs.Mauna Bhatt for the revenue defending the action of therevenue has urged that the chronology of dates and eventshave been depicted in the reply of the Joint Commissioner ofIncome tax. And it is quite clear from the documents whichhave been furnished that the copy had been marked of theDraft Assessment Order dated 22.04.2021 along with thecomputation, to the assessee. She, however, fairlysubmitted that there is no document which she can pressedinto service to show as to how the service has been effectedto the assessee and therefore, she attempted to getinstructions in this regard. She also, on query being madeby the Court, has pertinently answered that everydocument which is signed and shared with the assessee,gets reflected in the portal of the Income-tax Department, however, what is placed before the Court is the order dated12.04.2021, which is a Draft Assessment Order, service ofwhich is a serious challenge made by the petitioner. however, what is placed before the Court is the order dated12.04.2021, which is a Draft Assessment Order, service ofwhich is a serious challenge made by the petitioner. 7.Having heard both the sides and also havingextensively examined the material on record, we specificallyconsidered the challenge to the very maintainability of thepetition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. ThisCourt is conscious that for correcting manifest failure ofobservance or non-observance of statutory provisions, thisCourt would have ample power to invoke jurisdiction andprinciples of natural justice, alternative remedy would nothave a reason to delay its exercise. It is a self restraint bythe Court where not only for redressing the questions ofviolation of principles of natural justice but also for theaction in total disregarding to the statutory provisions orwithout jurisdiction the Court shall need to invoke thejurisdiction, of-course not in a mechanical or routinemanner. 7.1The Apex Court in the case of Whirlpool CorporationVersus Registrar of Trade Marks, Mumbai & Others,reported in reported in (1998)1 SCC 1 has in detailconsidered the power to issue prerogative writ under Article226 of the Constitution of India by holding that it is plenaryin nature and is not limited by any other provision of theConstitution. This power can be exercised by the High Courtnot only for issuing writs in the nature of habeas corpus,Mandamus, etc. for the enforcement of any of thefundamental rights contained in Part III of the Constitutionbut also for "any other purpose". The Apex Court held that the alternative remedy has been consistently held by thisCourt not to operate as a bar in at least three contingencies,namely, where the writ petition has been filed for theenforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights or wherethere has been a violation of the principle of natural justiceor where the order or proceedings are wholly withoutjurisdiction or the vires of an Act is challenged. 7.2. This has been reiterated by the Apex Court in the caseof Radha Krishan Industries Versus State of HimachalPradesh reported in 21 SCC Online SC 334. Relevantparagraph reads thus : “27. Following the dictum of this Court in Whirlpool(supra), in Harbanslal Sahnia v. Indian Oil Corpn. Ltd.,this court noted that: "7. So far as the view taken by the High Court that the remedy by way of recourse to arbitrationclause was available to the appellants andtherefore the writ petition filed by the appellantswas liable to be dismissed is concerned, suffice itto observe that the rule of exclusion of writjurisdiction by availability of an alternativeremedy is a rule of discretion and not one ofcompulsion. In an appropriate case, in spite ofavailability of the alternative remedy, the HighCourt may still exercise its writ jurisdiction in atleast three contingencies: (i) where the writ petitionseeks enforcement of any of the fundamentalrights; (ii) where there is failure of principles of natural justice; or (iii) where the orders orproceedings are wholly without jurisdiction or thevires of an Act is challenged. (See Whirlpool Corpn.v. Registrar of Trade Marks [(1998) 8 SCC 11.) Thepresent case attracts applicability of the first twocontingencies. Moreover, as noted, the appellants'dealership, which is their bread and butter, cameto be terminated for an irrelevant and non-existentcause. In such circumstances, we feel that theappellants should have been allowed relief by theHigh Court itself instead of driving them to theneed of initiating arbitration proceedings."(emphasis supplied) 28. The principles of law which emerge are that: (i) The power under Article 226 of the Constitutionto issue writs can be exercised not only for theenforcement of fundamental rights, but for anyother purpose as well; 28. The principles of law which emerge are that: (i) The power under Article 226 of the Constitutionto issue writs can be exercised not only for theenforcement of fundamental rights, but for anyother purpose as well; (ii) The High Court has the discretion not toentertain a writ petition. One of the restrictionsplaced on the power of the High Court is where aneffective alternate remedy is available to theaggrieved person; (iii) Exceptions to the rule of alternate remedy arisewhere (a) the writ petition has been filed for theenforcement of a fundamental right protected byPart III of the Constitution; (b) there has been a violation of the principles of natural justice; (c) theorder or proceedings are wholly withoutjurisdiction; or (d) the vires of a legislation ischallenged; (iv) An alternate remedy by itself does not divestthe High Court of its powers under Article 226 ofthe Constitution in an appropriate case thoughordinarily, a writ petition should not beentertained when an efficacious alternate remedyis provided by law; (v) When a right is created by a statute, whichitself prescribes the remedy or procedure forenforcing the right or liability, resort must be hadto that particular statutory remedy before invokingthe discretionary remedy under Article 226 of theConstitution. This rule of exhaustion of statutoryremedies is a rule of policy, convenience anddiscretion; and (vi) In cases where there are disputed questions offact, the High Court may decide to declinejurisdiction in a writ petition. However, if the HighCourt is objectively of the view that the nature ofthe controversy requires the exercise of its writjurisdiction, such a view would not readily beinterfered with.” 7.3. In the matter on hand, the petitioner has approachedthis court with an emphasise on clear violation of principles of natural justiceand action in total disregard to theprovisions of law which makes the end order non-eststatutorily.Emphasizing the requirement of law on thestatute after section 144B has been inserted. It is the caseof the petitioner that the respondent is obligated to issueDraft Assessment Order before issuance of the finalassessment order . In the instant case, in absence of serviceof any Draft Assessment Order as well as show causenotice, a complete violation of not only principle of naturaljustice but also of statutory requirement is pleaded. 7.04.Relevant would be to refer to section 144B, whichreads thus: “Section 144B (1) Notwithstanding anything to thecontrary contained in any other provisions of this Act,the assessment under sub-section (3) of section 143 orunder section 144, in the cases referred to in sub-section (2), shall be made in a faceless manner as perthe following procedure, namely: i) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shallserve assessee under sub-section (2) of section143; a notice on the ii) the assessee may, within fifteen days from thedate of receipt of notice referred to in clause (i), filehis response to the National Faceless AssessmentCentre; (iii) where the assessee- (a) has furnished his return of income undersection 139 or in response to a notice issuedunder sub-section (1) of section 142 or undersub-section (1) of section 148, and a noticeunder sub-section (2) of section 143 has beenissued by the Assessing Officer or theprescribed income-tax authority, as the casemay be; or (b) has not furnished his return of income inresponse to a notice issued under sub-section(1) of section 142 by the Assessing Officer; or (c) has not furnished his return of incomeunder sub-section (1) of section 148 and anotice under sub-section (1) of section 142has been issued by the Assessing Officer, theNational Faceless Assessment Centre shallintimate the assessee that assessment in hiscase shall be completed in accordance withthe procedure laid down under this section; (a) has furnished his return of income undersection 139 or in response to a notice issuedunder sub-section (1) of section 142 or undersub-section (1) of section 148, and a noticeunder sub-section (2) of section 143 has beenissued by the Assessing Officer or theprescribed income-tax authority, as the casemay be; or (b) has not furnished his return of income inresponse to a notice issued under sub-section(1) of section 142 by the Assessing Officer; or (c) has not furnished his return of incomeunder sub-section (1) of section 148 and anotice under sub-section (1) of section 142has been issued by the Assessing Officer, theNational Faceless Assessment Centre shallintimate the assessee that assessment in hiscase shall be completed in accordance withthe procedure laid down under this section; (iv) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shallassign the case selected for the purposes offaceless assessment under this section to aspecific assessment unit in any one RegionalFaceless Assessment Centre through anautomated allocation system; (v) where a case is assigned to the assessment unit, it may make a request to the NationalFaceless Assessment Centre for- (a) obtaining such further information,documents or evidence from the assessee orany other person, as it may specify; (b) conducting of certain enquiry orverification by verification unit; and (c) seeking technical assistance from the technical unit; (vi) where a request for obtaining further information,documents or evidence from the assessee or any otherperson has been made by the assessment unit, theNational Faceless Assessment Centre shall issueappropriate notice or requisition to the assessee or anyother person for obtaining the information, documents orby the assessment unit; (vii) the assessee or any other person, as the case maybe, shall file his response to the notice referred to inclause (vi), within the time specified therein or such timeas may be extended on the basis of an application inthis regard, to the National Faceless AssessmentCentre; (viii) where a request for conducting of certain enquiry orverification by the verification unit has been made bythe assessment unit, the request shall be assigned bythe National Faceless Assessment Centre to a verification unit in any one Regional FacelessAssessment Centre through an automated allocationsystem; (ix) where a request for seeking technical assistancefrom the technical unit has been made by theassessment unit, the request shall be assigned by theNational Faceless Assessment Centre to a technical unitin any one Regional Faceless Assessment Centrethrough an automated allocation system; (x)the National Faceless Assessment Centre shallsend the report received from the verification unit or thetechnical unit, based on the request referred to inclause (viii) or clause (ix) to the concerned assessment (xi) where the assessee fails to comply with the noticereferred to in clause (vi) or notice issued under sub-section (1) of section 142 with a direction issued undersub-section (2A) of section 142, the National FacelessAssessment Centre shall serve upon such assessee anotice under section 144 giving him an opportunity toshow-cause, on a date and time to be specified in thenotice, why the assessment in his case should not becompleted to the best of its judgment; (xii) the assessee shall, within the time specified in thenotice referred to in clause (xi) or such time as may beextended on the basis of an application in this regard,file his response to t to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xiii) where the assessee fails to file response to thenotice referred to in clause (xi) within the time specifiedtherein or within the extended time, if any, the NationalFaceless Assessment Centre shall intimate such failureto the assessment unit; (xii) the assessee shall, within the time specified in thenotice referred to in clause (xi) or such time as may beextended on the basis of an application in this regard,file his response to t to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xiii) where the assessee fails to file response to thenotice referred to in clause (xi) within the time specifiedtherein or within the extended time, if any, the NationalFaceless Assessment Centre shall intimate such failureto the assessment unit; (xiv) the assessment unit shall, after taking into accountall the relevant material available on the record make inwriting, a draft assessment order or, in a case whereintimation referred to in clause (xiii) is received from theNational Faceless Assessment Centre, make in awriting a draft assessment order to the best of itsjudgment, either accepting the income or sum payableby, or sum refundable to, the assessee as per his returnor making variation to the said income or sum, andsend a copy of such order to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xv) the assessment unit shall, while making draftassessment order, provide details of the penaltyproceedings to be initiated therein, if any (xvi) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shallexamine the draft assessment order in accordance withthe risk management strategy specified by the Board,including by way of an automated examination tool,whereupon it may decide to- (a) finalise the assessment, in case no variationprejudicial to the interest of assessee is proposed, as per the draft assessment order and serve acopy of such order and notice for initiating penaltyproceedings, if any, to the assessee, along withthe demand notice, specifying the sum payable by,or refund of any amount due to, the assessee onthe basis of such assessment, or (b) provide an opportunity to the assessee, in caseany variation prejudicial to the interest ofassessee is proposed, by serving a notice callingupon him to show cause as to why the proposedvariation should not be made; or (c) assign the draft assessment order to a reviewunit in any one Regional Faceless AssessmentCentre, through an automated allocation system,for conducting review of such order; (xvii) the review unit shall conduct review of the draftassessment order referred to it by the National FacelessAssessment Centre whereupon it may decide to (a) concur with the draft assessment order andintimate the National Faceless Assessment Centreabout such concurrence; or (b) suggest such variation, as it may deem fit, inthe draft assessment wat order and send itssuggestions to the National Faceless AssessmentCentre; (xviii) the National Faceless Assessment Centreshall, upon receiving concur rence of the reviewunit, follow the procedure laid down in- (a) sub-clause (a) of clause (xvi); or (b) sub-clause (b) of clause (xvi); (xix) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,upon receiving suggestions for variation from the reviewunit, assign the case to an assessment unit, other thanthe assessment unit which has made the draftassessment order, through an automated allocationsystem; (xx) the assessment unit shall, after considering thevariations suggested by the review unit, send the finaldraft assessment order to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xxi) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,upon receiving final draft assessment order follow theprocedure laid down in- (a) sub-clause (a) of clause (xvi); or (b) sub-clause (b) of clause (xvi); (xxii) the assessee may, in a case where show-causenotice has been served upon him as per the procedurelaid down in sub-clause (b) of clause (xvi), furnish hisresponse to the National Faceless Assessment Centreon or before the date and time specified in the notice orwithin the extended time, if any; (xxiii) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall- (a) where no response to the show-cause notice isreceived as per clause (xxii),- (xxi) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,upon receiving final draft assessment order follow theprocedure laid down in- (a) sub-clause (a) of clause (xvi); or (b) sub-clause (b) of clause (xvi); (xxii) the assessee may, in a case where show-causenotice has been served upon him as per the procedurelaid down in sub-clause (b) of clause (xvi), furnish hisresponse to the National Faceless Assessment Centreon or before the date and time specified in the notice orwithin the extended time, if any; (xxiii) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall- (a) where no response to the show-cause notice isreceived as per clause (xxii),- (A) in a case where the draft assessment order or thefinal draft assessment order is in respect of an eligibleassessee and proposes to make any variation which isprejudicial to the interest of said assessee, forward thedraft assessment order or e final draft assessmentorder to such assessee; or (B) in any other case, finalise the assessment as per thedraft assessment order or the final draft assessmentorder and serve a copy of such order and notice forinitiating penalty proceedings, if any, to the assessee,alongwith the demand notice specifying the sumpayable by, or refund of any amount due to, theassessee on the basis of such assessment; (b) in any other case, send the response received fromthe assessee to the assessment unit; (xxiv) the assessment unit shall, after taking intoaccount the response furnished by the assessee, makea revised draft assessment order and send it to theNational Faceless Assessment Centre; (xxv) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,upon receiving the revised draft assessment order,- (a) in case the variations proposed in the revised draft assessment order are not prejudicial to theinterest of the assessee in comparison to the draftassessment order or the final draft assessmentorder, and- (A) in case the revised draft assessment order is inrespect of an eligible assessee and there is anyvariation prejudicial to the interest of the assesseeproposed in draft assessment order or the final draftassessment order, forward the said revised draftassessment order to such assessee; (B) in any other case, finalise the assessment as per therevised draft assessment order and serve a copy ofsuch order and notice for initiating penalty proceedings,if any, to the assessee. alongwith the demand notice,specifying the sum payable by chor refund of anyamount due to, the assessee on the basis of order areprejudicial to the interest of the assessee in comparisonto the draft assessment order or such assessment; (b) in case the variations proposed in the revised draftassessment order are prejudicial to the interest of theassessee in comparison to the draft assessment orderor final draft assessment order, provide an opportunityto the assessee, by serving a notice calling upon himi toshow cause as to why the proposed variation shouldnot be made; (xxvi) the procedure laid down in clauses (xxiii), (xxiv)and (xxv) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the notice referred to in sub-clause (b) of Clause (xxv); (xxvii) where the draft assessment order or final draftassessment order or revised draft assessment order isforwarded to the eligible assessee as per item (A) ofsub-clause (a) of clause (xxiii) or item (A) of sub-clause(a) of clause (xxv), such assessee shall, within theperiod specified in sub-section (2) of section 144C, filehis acceptance of the variations to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xxviii) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,(a) upon receipt of acceptance as per clause (xxvii); or(b) if no objections are received from the eligibleassessee within the period specified in sub-section (2) ofsection 144C, (xxvi) the procedure laid down in clauses (xxiii), (xxiv)and (xxv) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the notice referred to in sub-clause (b) of Clause (xxv); (xxvii) where the draft assessment order or final draftassessment order or revised draft assessment order isforwarded to the eligible assessee as per item (A) ofsub-clause (a) of clause (xxiii) or item (A) of sub-clause(a) of clause (xxv), such assessee shall, within theperiod specified in sub-section (2) of section 144C, filehis acceptance of the variations to the National FacelessAssessment Centre; (xxviii) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,(a) upon receipt of acceptance as per clause (xxvii); or(b) if no objections are received from the eligibleassessee within the period specified in sub-section (2) ofsection 144C, finalise the assessment within the time allowed undersub-section (4) of section 144C and serve a copy of suchorder and notice for initiating penalty proceedings, ifany, to the assessee, alongwith the demand notice,specifying the sum payable by, or refund of any amountdue to, the assessee on the basis of such assessment; (xxix) where the eligible assessee files his objectionswith the Dispute Resolution Panel, the NationalFaceless Assessment Centre shall upon receipt of thedirections issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel undersub-section (5) of section 144C, forward such directionsto the concerned assessment unit; (xxx) the assessment unit shall in conformity of thedirections issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel undersub-section (5) of section 144C, prepare a draftassessment order in accordance with sub-section (13) ofsection 144C and send a copy of such order to theNational Faceless Assessment Centre; (xxxi) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,upon receipt of draft assessment order referred to inclause (xxx), finalise the assessment within the timeallowed under sub-section (13) of section 144C andserve a copy of such order and notice for initiatingpenalty proceed ings, if any, to the assessee, alongwiththe demand notice, specifying the sum payable by, orrefund of any amount due to, the assessee on the basisof such assessment; (xxxii) the National Faceless Assessment Centre shall,after completion of assessment, transfer all theelectronic records of the case to the Assessing Officerhaving jurisdiction over the said case for such action asmay be required under the Act. (2) The faceless assessment under sub-section (1) shallbe made in respect of such territorial area, or persons orclass of persons, or incomes or class of incomes, orcases or class of cases, as may be specified by theBoard. (3) The Board may, for the purposes of facelessassessment, set up the following Centres and units and specify their respective jurisdiction, namely; (i) a National Faceless Assessment Centre tofacilitate the conduct of faceless assessmentproceedings in a centralised manner, which shallbe vested with the jurisdiction to make facelessassessment; (ii) Regional Faceless Assessment Centres, as itmay deem necessary, facilitate the conduct offaceless assessment proceedings in the cadrecontrolling region of a Principal ChiefCommissioner, which shall be vested with thejurisdiction to make faceless assessment; (iii) assessment units, as it may deem necessaryto facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of making assessment, whichincludes identification of points or issues materialfor determination of any liability (including refund)under the Act, seeking information or clarificationon points or issues so identified analysis of thematerial furnished by the assessee or any otherperson, and such other functions as may berequired for the purposes of making facelessassessment; (iv) verification units, as it may deem necessary tofacilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of verification, which includesenquiry, cross verification, examination of books of (iii) assessment units, as it may deem necessaryto facilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of making assessment, whichincludes identification of points or issues materialfor determination of any liability (including refund)under the Act, seeking information or clarificationon points or issues so identified analysis of thematerial furnished by the assessee or any otherperson, and such other functions as may berequired for the purposes of making facelessassessment; (iv) verification units, as it may deem necessary tofacilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of verification, which includesenquiry, cross verification, examination of books of account, examination of witnesses and recordingof statements, and such other functions as may berequired for the purposes of verification; (v) technical units, as it may deem necessary tofacilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of providing technicalassistance which includes any assistance oradvice on legal, accounting, forensic, informationtechnology, valuation, transfer pricing, dataanalytics, management or any other technicalmatter which may be required in a particular caseor a class of cases, under this section; and (vi) review units, as it may deem necessary tofacilitate the conduct of faceless assessment, toperform the function of review of the draftassessment order, which includes checkingwhether the relevant and material evidence hasbeen brought on record, whether the relevantpoints of fact and law have been duly incorporatedin the draft order, whether the issues on whichaddition or disallowance should be made havebeen discussed in the draft order, whether theapplicable judicial decisions have been consideredand dealt with in the draft order, checking forarithmetical correctness of variations proposed, ifany, and such other functions as may be requiredfor the purposes of review. (4) The assessment unit, verification unit, technical unit and the review unit shall have the following authorities,namely: (a) Additional Commissioner or Additional Directoror Joint Commissioner or Joint Director, as thecase may be; (b) Deputy Commissioner or Deputy Director orAssistant Commissioner or Assistant Director, orIncome-tax Officer, as the case may be; (c) such other income-tax authority, ministerialstaff, executive or consultant, as considerednecessary by the Board. (5) All communication among the assessment unit,review unit, verification unit or technical unit or with theassessee or any other person with respect to theinformation or documents or evidence or any otherdetails, as may be necessary for the purposes ofmaking a faceless assessment shall be through theNational Faceless Assessment Centre; (6) All communications between the National FacelessAssessment Centre and the assessee, or his authorisedrepresentative, or any other person shall be exchangedexclusively by electronic mode; and all internalcommunications between the National FacelessAssessment Centre, Regional Faceless AssessmentCentres and various units shall be exchangedexclusively by electronic mode: Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall notapply to the enquiry or verification conducted by theverification unit in the circumstances referred to in sub-clause of clause (xii) of sub-section (7); (7) For the purposes of faceless assessment- (i) an record shall be authenticated by (a) the National Faceless Assessment Centre byaffixing its digital signature; (b) assessee or any other person, by affixing his digital signature if he is required to furnish hisreturn of income under digital signature, and inany other case, by affixing his digital signature orunder electronic verification code in the prescribedmanner; (ii) every notice or order or any other electroniccommunication shall be delivered to the addressee,being the assessee, by way of- Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall notapply to the enquiry or verification conducted by theverification unit in the circumstances referred to in sub-clause of clause (xii) of sub-section (7); (7) For the purposes of faceless assessment- (i) an record shall be authenticated by (a) the National Faceless Assessment Centre byaffixing its digital signature; (b) assessee or any other person, by affixing his digital signature if he is required to furnish hisreturn of income under digital signature, and inany other case, by affixing his digital signature orunder electronic verification code in the prescribedmanner; (ii) every notice or order or any other electroniccommunication shall be delivered to the addressee,being the assessee, by way of- (a) placing an authenticated copy thereof in theassessee's registered account; or (b) sending an authenticated copy thereof to theregistered address of the assessee or his authorisedrepresentative; or (c) uploading an authenticated copyon the assessee's Mobile App, and followed by a realtime alert; (iii) every notice or order or any other electroniccommunication shall be delivered to the addressee,being any other person, by sending an authenticatedcopy thereof to the registered email address of suchperson, followed by a real time alert; (iv) the assessee shall file his response to any notice ororder or any other electronic communication, through hisregistered account, and once an acknowledgement issent by the National Faceless Assessment Centrecontaining the hash result generated upon successfulsubmission of response, the response shall be deemedto be authenticated; (v) the time and place of dispatch and receipt ofelectronic record shall be determined in accordance withthe provisions of section 13 of the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000); (vi) a person shall not be required to appear eitherpersonally or through authorised representative inconnection with any proceedings before the income-taxauthority at the National Faceless Assessment Centre orRegional Faceless Assessment Centre or any unit set upunder this sub-section; (vii) in a case where a variation is proposed in the draftassessment order or final draft assessment order orrevised draft assessment order, and an opportunity isprovided to the assessee by serving a notice callingupon him to show cause as to why the assessment should not be Y completed as per the such draft or finaldraft or revised draft assessment order, the assessee orhis authorised representative, as the case may be, mayrequest for personal hearing so as to make his oralsubmissions or present his case before the income-taxauthority in any unit; (viii) the Chief Commissioner or the Director General, incharge of the Regional Faceless Assessment Centre,under which the concerned unit is set up, may approvethe request for personal hearing referred to in clause(vii) if he is of the opinion that the request is covered bythe circumstances referred to in sub-clause (h) of clause(xii); (ix) where the request for personal hearing has beenapproved by the Chief Commissioner or the DirectorGeneral, in charge of the Regional Faceless AssessmentCentre, such hearing shall be conducted exclusivelythrough video conferencing or video telephony, includinguse of any telecommunication application softwarewhich supports video conferencing or video telephony,in accordance with the procedure laid down by theBoard; (x) subject to the proviso to sub-section (6), anyexamination or recording of the statement of theassessee or any other person (other than statementrecorded in the course of survey under section 133A ofthe Act) shall be conducted by an income-tax authorityin any unit, exclusively through video conferencing or (ix) where the request for personal hearing has beenapproved by the Chief Commissioner or the DirectorGeneral, in charge of the Regional Faceless AssessmentCentre, such hearing shall be conducted exclusivelythrough video conferencing or video telephony, includinguse of any telecommunication application softwarewhich supports video conferencing or video telephony,in accordance with the procedure laid down by theBoard; (x) subject to the proviso to sub-section (6), anyexamination or recording of the statement of theassessee or any other person (other than statementrecorded in the course of survey under section 133A ofthe Act) shall be conducted by an income-tax authorityin any unit, exclusively through video conferencing or video telephony, including Smouse of anytelecommunication application software which supportsvideo conferencing or video telephony in accordancewith the procedure laid down by the Board; (xi) the Board shall establish suitable facilities for videoconferencingorvideotelephonyincludingtelecommunication application software which supportsvideo conferencing or video telephony at such loc tionsas may be necessary, so as to ensure that theassessee, or his authorised representative, or any otherperson is not denied the benefit of faceless assessmentmerely on the consideration that such assessee or hisauthorised representative, or any other person does nothave access to video conferencing or video telephony athis end; (xii) the Principal Chief Commissioner or the PrincipalDirector General or charge of the National FacelessAssessment Centre shall, with the prior approval of theBoard, lay down the standards, procedures and processes for effective functioning of the National FacelessAssessment Centre, Regional Faceless AssessmentCentres and the unit set up, in an automate