Best judgment assessment requires defective accounts and direct nexus to turnover; seized registers and later reports were insufficient.

Rejection of accounts and best judgment assessment cannot be sustained unless the accounts for the relevant year are shown to be defective or false on material directly linked to the assessed turnover. Seized attendance registers, by themselves, did not prove suppressed sales or overproduction, and a later inspection report relating to a different period could not be relied on without proper nexus to the year under assessment. Under Section 16 of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1959, assessment must rest on relevant evidence tied to the turnover of the year in question; indirect or unrelated material is insufficient. The enhancement was therefore unsustainable, and assessment had to proceed on the returned gross turnover.

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Issues: Whether the enhancement based on seized attendance registers and a later inspection report could sustain rejection of the dealer's accounts and a best judgment assessment.

Analysis: The accounts for the relevant year were accepted and no defect was found in them. The seized attendance registers did not themselves prove suppressed sales or overproduction, and the later inspection report related to a period outside the assessment year and could not be used against the assessee without proper linkage to the accounts. Under Section 16 of the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1959, assessment must rest on accounts and other evidence that have a direct nexus with the turnover of the year under assessment. Irrelevant or indirect material, without proof of falsity in the accounts, cannot justify rejection of accounts or adoption of best judgment assessment.

Conclusion: The enhancement was unsustainable and the assessee was entitled to assessment on the returned gross turnover.

Ratio Decidendi: Rejection of accounts and best judgment assessment cannot be sustained unless the accounts for the relevant year are shown to be defective or false on relevant material having a direct nexus with the assessed turnover.

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