M/S Goel International Pvt. Ltd.,, ... vs Dcit, Karnal on 1 March, 2018
6. "According to us, not allowing the assessee to cross-examine the
witnesses by the Adjudicating Authority though the statements of those
witnesses were made the basis of the impugned order is a serious flaw
which makes the order nullity inasmuch as it amounted to violation of
principles of natural justice because of which the assessee was adversely
affected. It is to be borne in mind that the order of the Commissioner was
based upon the statements given by the aforesaid two witnesses. Even
when the assessee disputed the correctness of the statements and wanted
to cross-examine, the Adjudicating Authority did not grant this
opportunity to the assessee. It would be pertinent to note that in the
impugned order passed by the Adjudicating Authority he has specifically
mentioned that such an opportunity was sought by the assessee. However,
no such opportunity was granted and the aforesaid plea is not even dealt
with by the Adjudicating Authority. As far as the Tribunal is concerned,
we find that rejection of this plea is totally untenable. The Tribunal has
simply stated that cross-examination of the said dealers could not have
brought out any material which would not be in possession of the
appellant themselves to explain as to why their ex-factory prices remain
34 ITA Nos. 1054, 1190 & 1209/JP/2018 & CO 47/JP/2018
M/s Tirupati Balaji Estate Pvt. Ltd. Vs DCIT
static. It was not for the Tribunal to have guess work as to for what
purposes the appellant wanted to cross-examine those dealers and what
extraction the appellant wanted from them".