https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786527 Admissibility of departmental statements recorded under Section 108 is clarified: where such statements are relied upon in adjudication, the adjudicating authority must, unless an exception under clause (a) of Section 138B(1) applies, first examine the maker as a witness and form a contemporaneous opinion that the statement should be admitted in the interests of justice, allowing cross-examination; failure to follow this mandatory procedure renders the statement inadmissible for imposing penalty. Applying that rule, a penalty based solely on a Section 108 statement without compliance with Section 138B(1)(b) cannot be sustained and was set aside in favour of the assessee. en-us Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:15:59 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786527 Admissibility of departmental statements recorded under Section 108 is clarified: where such statements are relied upon in adjudication, the adjudicating authority must, unless an exception under clause (a) of Section 138B(1) applies, first examine the maker as a witness and form a contemporaneous opinion that the statement should be admitted in the interests of justice, allowing cross-examination; failure to follow this mandatory procedure renders the statement inadmissible for imposing penalty. Applying that rule, a penalty based solely on a Section 108 statement without compliance with Section 138B(1)(b) cannot be sustained and was set aside in favour of the assessee. Case-Laws Customs Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=786527