Assessing Officers must independently evaluate material and...

Assessing Officers must independently evaluate material and determine assessment issues; administrative supervision cannot displace their quasi-judicial discretion. Incorporating superior-authority directions or inputs without independent satisfaction renders an assessment legally unsustainable. For alleged on-money receipts, electronic communications and third-party statements require an opportunity for confrontation and cross-examination. The presumption concerning seized material is rebuttable and applies against the person from whom it is seized. WhatsApp chats concerning developed plots, unsupported by cash evidence, purchaser admissions, acknowledgments or other corroboration, cannot be extrapolated to undeveloped-plot sales where valuation, purchaser statements and comparable transactions support disclosed consideration. On these principles, the assessment and on-money addition were unsustainable.