Admissibility of recorded statements and electronic evidence: CESTAT excludes non compliant statements and email printouts and sets aside revaluation and penalty

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Full Text of the Document

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....Recorded statements under section 108 require the statutory procedure under section 138B: the witness must be examined before the adjudicating authority, the authority must decide on admissibility, and the person against whom the statement is used must be afforded cross examination - otherwise the statements lack relevance and cannot be relied upon. Electronic records and computer printouts are inadmissible without compliance with section 138C and a certificate; absence of Panchnama and retraction of statements defeats reliance. Consequence: the tribunal set aside the revaluation and penalty and allowed the appeal.....