Section 74 requires assessment by reference to a particular tax...

Section 74 requires assessment by reference to a particular tax period; therefore, a composite notice and adjudication covering multiple assessment years as a block assessment is legally unsustainable. The composite adjudication was quashed, with fresh separate proceedings directed for each year. Where witness statements support GST liability or confiscation findings, cross-examination of non-co-noticee witnesses cannot be denied merely because statements were unretracted, corroborated, or presumed immune from challenge; the request must be reconsidered on proper reasons. Co-noticees facing penalties for aiding or abetting need not be cross-examined. Privately maintained documents, including pocket diaries, require proof through their author or responsible custodian; this issue remains open in fresh adjudication.

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