Second sales tax concession upheld where Tribunal could verify existing claim with records already on file.

The Tribunal could examine books and bills produced before it to verify an assessee's consistent claim that part of the transferred stock had already suffered tax in the transferor's hands and was therefore liable to be treated as second sales. The Court treated that material as corroboration of an existing plea, not a fresh case raised for the first time, and held that looking into it was permissible to test genuineness and avoid denial of justice. On that basis, the Tribunal was competent to grant the tax concession, and the assessee was entitled to relief on the disputed turnover.

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Issues: Whether the Appellate Tribunal could consider documents produced before it to verify the assessee's claim that part of the stock had already suffered tax and was liable to be treated as second sales, and whether the assessee was entitled to the resulting tax concession.

Analysis: The assessee's stand throughout the assessment proceedings was that a specified part of the stock taken over had already borne tax in the hands of the transferor and could not again be subjected to tax as first sales. The relevant books and bills were available before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, but the claim was not examined on merits. The Tribunal verified the records and accepted that tax had already been collected on the disputed turnover. The Court held that, in the circumstances, the Tribunal was not barred from looking into such material, since doing so merely enabled it to test the genuineness of the assessee's consistent case and prevented denial of justice. The evidence was treated as corroboration of an existing plea rather than as a wholly new case raised for the first time.

Conclusion: The Tribunal was competent to examine the material and grant the tax concession, and the assessee was entitled to relief on the disputed turnover.

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