Primary evidence requirement in tax claims: addition remanded because affidavits alone could not verify land sale proceeds and co-owner shares.

Where primary evidence is missing and the factual basis of the tax claim remains unverified, affidavits alone are insufficient to sustain or reject the addition. The registered sale deed was necessary to determine the nature of the agricultural land, the co-owners' shares, and the capacity in which consideration was received, while jamabandi entries by themselves were inadequate. Because the alleged cash payment to the sisters was not supported by bank records or other primary material, and the ancestral character of the property also remained unclear, the matter was restored to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication after examining the sale deed, affidavits and surrounding facts and after giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard.

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Issues: Whether the addition made in respect of the sisters' alleged share in the sale proceeds of agricultural land was sustainable, and whether the matter required restoration to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The record did not contain the registered sale deed, which was the primary document to determine the nature of the land, the respective shares of the co-owners, and the capacity in which the assessee received the consideration. Jamabandi entries alone were insufficient. The claim that the sisters had received their shares in cash was not supported by bank entries or other primary material. The affidavits filed by the sisters could not substitute for proof of actual payment where the relevant facts were capable of being established by documentary evidence. The nature of the property as ancestral or otherwise also remained unclear. In these circumstances, the factual foundation necessary for a conclusive finding was incomplete.

Conclusion: The issue was restored to the Assessing Officer to examine the sale deed, the affidavits, and the surrounding facts afresh and to pass a speaking order after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Ratio Decidendi: Where material primary evidence is absent and the factual basis of a tax claim remains unverified, the matter may be remanded for fresh examination rather than decided on affidavits alone.

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