Best judgment assessment requires cogent evidence; unexplained book non-production alone cannot justify taxable turnover enhancement.

Best judgment assessment may reject books not produced during survey, but enhancement of taxable turnover requires cogent supporting material. Explained loose papers whose entries were verifiable from regular books did not establish suppression or concealment. In the absence of evidence of unrecorded purchases from unregistered dealers or undisclosed transactions, turnover enhancement could not rest on presumptions or surmises. The article notes that the disclosed taxable turnover was accepted because the enhancement lacked an evidentiary basis.

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Issues: Whether taxable turnover may be enhanced through best judgment assessment merely because books of account were unavailable during survey and loose papers were found, despite the papers being explained and absence of material showing purchases from unregistered dealers or suppression of transactions.

Analysis: The loose papers recovered during survey were explained and their entries were verifiable from the regular books. The accepted factual findings established that the assessee dealt in branded ready-made garments purchased from registered in-State dealers against tax invoices. Although non-production of books during survey could justify rejection of the books, it did not by itself furnish a basis to enhance turnover. No adverse material established unrecorded purchases from unregistered dealers, suppression, or concealment. A best judgment assessment and enhancement of turnover require cogent supporting material and cannot rest on presumptions or surmises.

Conclusion: The enhancement of turnover was unsustainable; the disclosed taxable turnover for the relevant assessment year was accepted in favour of the assessee.

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