Reasoned assessment orders must evaluate evidence explicitly; bare conclusions on inter-State sales are unsustainable.

Quasi-judicial assessment orders must disclose clear, explicit reasons showing application of mind to the material produced by the assessee. Where purchase orders, transport records and supporting certificates are said to show inter-State sales, a mere reproduction of the departmental notice and objections, followed by bare conclusions, is insufficient. Findings of camouflage or suppression cannot rest on conjecture without reasoned evaluation of the record. A counter affidavit cannot cure the absence of reasons in the original order. The stated result was that the provisional assessment order was held unsustainable and the matter required reconsideration through a fresh, reasoned order after giving the assessee an opportunity.

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Issues: Whether the provisional assessment order was liable to be set aside for being a non-speaking order passed without application of mind and without considering the documents produced by the assessee.

Analysis: The challenge centred on whether the assessing authority had dealt with the purchase orders, transport records, and the certificate relied on by the assessee, which were said to show inter-State sales. The order merely reproduced the departmental notice and objections and then recorded conclusions without analysing the documents. In quasi-judicial matters, reasons must be clear and explicit so that the basis of the decision is discernible. A mere assertion that the records were examined is insufficient when the order itself discloses no reasoned evaluation of the material. Findings such as camouflage and suppression, when unsupported by analysis of the records, amount to conjectures and surmises. A counter affidavit cannot cure the absence of reasons in the original order.

Conclusion: The provisional assessment order was unsustainable and was set aside, with a direction to the assessing authority to reconsider the matter and pass a reasoned order after affording opportunity to the assessee.

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