Natural justice requires disclosure of adverse material before adjudication; undisclosed Anti-Evasion comments vitiated the order.

Adjudication based on undisclosed adverse material breached the rule of fair hearing. The order relied in part on comments obtained from the Anti-Evasion Branch on the assessee's reply to the show cause notice, but those comments were not supplied to the assessee and no opportunity was given to rebut them before the decision. Because the material influenced the determination, denial of access to it vitiated the adjudication for breach of natural justice and rendered the order unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the adjudication order was vitiated for breach of natural justice by reliance on comments of the Anti-Evasion Branch that were not supplied to the assessee before the order was passed.

Analysis: The order was founded in part on comments called for from the Anti-Evasion Branch on the assessee's reply to the show cause notice. Those comments were not disclosed to the assessee, and no opportunity was given to rebut them before adjudication. Since the adverse material was used in deciding the matter, denial of access to that material amounted to a violation of the rule of fair hearing.

Conclusion: The adjudication order was vitiated by breach of the principles of natural justice and could not be sustained.

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