Law:

Section:

Evidence - Income-tax enquiries - Income-tax Authorities whether bound by technical rules of evidence-Rules of natural justice-Examination of witnesses in the absence of assessee-Duty to give opportunity to assessee to cross-examine.   The Income-tax Officer is not bound by any technical rules of the law of evidence. It is open to him to collect materials to facilitate assessment even by private enquiry. But if hedesires to use the material so collected, the assessee must be informed of the material and must be given an adequate opportunity of explaining it.   Where the Income-tax Officer examined two witnesses in the absence of the assessee but the Appellate Assistant Commissioner permitted the assessee to cross-examine these witnesses after re- summoning them   Held, that the statements made by the witnesses before the Income-tax Officer were material upon which the Tribunal could act, and it was open to the Tribunal to rely upon the statements made by them before the Income-tax Officer and disbelieve the statements subsequently made by them before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. JUDGMENT   SHAH, J.-The High Court of Judicature at Bombay answered in the affirmative the following two questions which were referred by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Bombay, under section 66 (2) of the Income-tax Act;   "(1) Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case the Tribunal was justified in law in adding to the total income of the assessee the sum of Rs.1,45,706 and/or Rs. 48,185 or any part thereof ?   (2) Whether there was any material on record to support the finding that Rs. 1,45,706 and/or Rs. 48,185 or any part thereof represent the income of the assessee ?"   With special leave the assessees, Messrs C. Vasantlal & Co., have appealed to this Court.   The assessees carried on business as commission agents and brokers and also in forward transactions in cotton, bullion and other commodities. In the course of proceedings for assessment of income-tax of the assessees, for the assessment year 1947-48, two entries in the assessees' books of accounts for Samvat 2002 (which was the previous year…