Opportunity to furnish duplicate tax declarations should not be refused merely because the request omits a fixed timeframe.

Where an appellate authority directs verification of the B-File and, if unavailable, requires duplicate declarations and supporting information, the revisional authority should consider a request for time to reconstruct and furnish that material favourably. The absence of a stated period in the application does not by itself justify rejection, because a reasonable time can be fixed by the authority itself. On that basis, the revisional order was set aside and the assessee was allowed to submit the duplicate declarations and supporting material within the time stipulated.

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Issues: Whether the revisional order dismissing the assessee's request for time to furnish duplicate declarations and supporting material was sustainable, and whether the assessing authority had complied with the appellate directions regarding examination of the B-File and further opportunity.

Analysis: The appellate authority had directed the assessing authority to verify the B-File and, if it was not available, to require the assessee to file duplicate copies of the declarations and information. No finding was recorded regarding the availability or otherwise of the B-File, and no specific direction was issued to the assessee to furnish duplicates. The request before the revisional authority for time to reconstruct and submit the material ought to have been considered favourably, and the absence of a stated period in the application did not justify rejection, since the revisional authority could itself have fixed a reasonable time.

Conclusion: The revisional order was set aside and the assessee was permitted to submit duplicate declarations and supporting material before the revisional authority within the stipulated time.

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