Rejection of account books unjustified where goods were not yet entered at survey time; best judgment assessment failed.

The rejection of account books was unwarranted where the only basis was a survey finding that gur present in the shop had not yet been entered in the books at the time of inspection. Mere non-entry by 9:35 a.m. did not, by itself, prove false accounts or suppression of sales, because goods received during business hours could ordinarily be recorded later in the day. On that footing, the best judgment assessment could not be sustained, and the matter was remitted for fresh action in accordance with the court's direction.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the assessee's account books and the consequent best judgment assessment were justified on the basis of the survey finding that goods were present in the shop but had not yet been entered in the books at the time of the survey.

Analysis: The only circumstance relied upon for discarding the books was that a survey made in the morning found 58.50 quintals of gur in the business premises which had not been entered in the satti bahi by 9:35 A.M. The absence of that entry at the time of survey, by itself, did not establish that the assessee was maintaining false accounts or suppressing transactions. In normal business practice, goods received during business hours could be entered by the close of the day, and the incomplete entry at the time of inspection was not enough to justify rejection of the books.

Conclusion: The rejection of the account books was unjustified and the best judgment assessment could not be sustained. The revision was allowed and the matter was sent back for fresh action in accordance with the court's direction.

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