Best judgment assessment requires disclosure of relied-upon material and a meaningful opportunity to object before finalisation.

A best judgment assessment cannot be sustained where the authority relies on materials collected behind the assessee's back and fails to furnish those documents before finalisation. The assessee was entitled to copies of the duplicate delivery notes and N forms used against it, and the denial of those materials, along with an ineffective opportunity to object and be heard, breached statutory fair procedure and natural justice. Cross-examination of the officers was not required on the facts, but disclosure of the relied-upon documents was mandatory. The assessment orders were quashed and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after supply of the documents and a meaningful hearing.

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Issues: Whether the assessment orders were liable to be quashed for non-supply of the documents relied on, denial of effective opportunity to file objections, and failure to grant a proper hearing before completing the best judgment assessments.

Analysis: The assessments were founded on materials collected behind the assessee's back, namely the duplicate delivery notes and N forms obtained from check-post and Rubber Board records. The assessee had specifically sought copies of those materials to meet the allegations, but only copies of documents seized from the assessee were supplied. The requirement of a fair pre-assessment procedure under the statutory framework and the principles of natural justice was not satisfied. The Court further held that cross-examination of the officers was not necessary on the facts, but the underlying documents relied upon for assessment had to be furnished before finalising the assessments. The statutory power to make a best judgment assessment does not dispense with procedural safeguards or the obligation to afford a meaningful opportunity of being heard.

Conclusion: The assessment orders were quashed and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after supplying the relied-upon documents and giving the assessee an opportunity to reply and be heard.

Ratio Decidendi: A best judgment assessment is invalid if material relied on by the authority is not disclosed to the assessee and a meaningful opportunity of objection and hearing is denied.

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