Fresh evidence and incomplete enquiry led to remand for reassessment after proper hearing and consideration of family property evidence.

Appellate admission of fresh evidence was held procedurally defective where the material on the source of family property and a partition agreement had not been confronted to the Wealth-tax Officer. The assessment was also found to rest on an incomplete enquiry and on an overly broad assumption that execution of a will automatically made the property absolutely belong to the testator or legatee. The appellate order was vacated, the assessment was set aside, and the matter was remitted for fresh disposal after hearing the assessee and considering the evidence produced.

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Issues: Whether the appellate order granting Hindu undivided family status could stand when fresh evidence was admitted without confronting the Wealth-tax Officer, and whether the assessment required fresh consideration.

Analysis: The additional material showed the source of the family property and a partition agreement, but it had not been put to the Wealth-tax Officer. The original assessment had proceeded on an incomplete enquiry and on an overly broad assumption that execution of a will necessarily made the property the absolute property of the testator or the legatee. In these circumstances, the appellate order suffered from a procedural defect in the admission of new evidence, and the assessment itself required reconsideration after proper hearing and enquiry.

Conclusion: The appellate order was vacated, the assessment was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the Wealth-tax Officer for fresh disposal after hearing the assessee and considering the evidence produced.

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