Natural justice in best judgment assessment survives if adverse material is later disclosed and meaningfully contestable before finality.

A best judgment assessment under the Bihar Sales Tax Act is not vitiated merely because the assessee was not shown the Inspector's report before assessment, where the assessee had failed to file returns and produce account books. The material particulars of the report were reflected in the assessment order, and the assessee later had a real opportunity to meet them before the appellate and revisional authorities by adducing oral and documentary evidence. Natural justice is satisfied if a meaningful opportunity to rebut adverse material is available before the assessment attains finality. On that basis, the assessment was upheld and the challenge based on non-disclosure failed.

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Issues: Whether a best judgment assessment under section 13(4) of the Bihar Sales Tax Act was legally vitiated because the Sales Tax Officer did not disclose to the assessee the Inspector's report or its material particulars before making the assessment.

Analysis: The assessee had failed to file returns and had not produced the account books, so the Sales Tax Officer was entitled to make a best judgment assessment. Even assuming that the Inspector's report was not shown before assessment, the material particulars of that report were incorporated in the assessment order, and the assessee became aware of the contents at the appellate stage. The assessee also had an opportunity before the appellate and revisional authorities to rebut the report by producing oral and documentary evidence, but did not effectively do so. In these circumstances, the requirement of natural justice was satisfied, because fair opportunity need not be given at every stage if it is available at a meaningful stage before the decision becomes final.

Conclusion: The assessment was not vitiated by non-disclosure of the Inspector's report, and the answer to the referred question was in the negative, in favour of the State and against the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A best judgment assessment is not invalid merely because the assessee was not shown an Inspector's report at the initial stage, if the substance of the material is disclosed in the assessment order and the assessee is later afforded a real opportunity to meet it at an appellate or revisional stage before the assessment becomes final.

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