Appellate authority may admit additional declaration forms at appeal stage absent statutory bar, and reasons need not be separately recorded.

In the absence of a statutory prohibition, the first appellate authority may admit and act upon additional evidence, including declaration forms not produced before the assessing officer, when exercising appellate discretion. Rule 27(2)(i) required such forms for deduction claims before assessment, but it did not bar production at the appellate stage. Rule 50(2) permitted further enquiry by the first appellate authority, and the narrower restriction under rule 61 for the Tribunal did not limit that power. The absence of separately recorded reasons for accepting the declarations did not, by itself, invalidate the appellate decision.

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Issues: Whether the first appellate authority had power to accept declaration forms not produced before the assessing officer and to grant deduction on that basis without assigning reasons for such acceptance.

Analysis: Rule 27(2)(i) required declaration forms to be furnished before completion of assessment for claiming deduction under section 5(2)(A)(a)(ii), but the Act and Rules did not prohibit production of such declarations at the appellate stage. Rule 50(2) empowered the first appellate authority to make further enquiry, and the accepted position was that the first appellate authority could receive additional evidence in the exercise of appellate discretion. The restriction applicable before the Tribunal under rule 61 did not control the width of the first appellate power. On that basis, declarations could validly be accepted in appeal even though they had not been filed before the assessing officer, and the absence of a separate recorded reason did not by itself invalidate the appellate decision.

Conclusion: The Member, Additional Sales Tax Tribunal was not justified in holding that the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax had no power to accept the declarations without assigning reasons.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a statutory prohibition, the first appellate authority may, in the exercise of appellate discretion, admit and act upon additional evidence, including declaration forms not produced at the assessment stage.

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