| 8/2/2012 |
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| Court of Appeal - Decisions in Income Tax Cases |
| Case No: 5 |
Decided on 16th February 1952 |
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An Appellant To The Board Of Special Commissioners Cannot Refuse To Give Evidence Under Oath.
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The Appellant filed a complex appeal asking for contract profits to be apportioned retrospectively over the years covered by the contract. During the course of the appeal the Board required appellant to give evidence under oath. The appellant refused and asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the Board's order.
The Court rejected the request saying that no analogy could be drawn with criminal procedures, since income tax cases are not criminal cases where no defendant can be forced to give evidence. The Court also pointed out that under the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure witnesses could only refuse to give evidence if their answers could leave them open to criminal proceedings, and it was left to the Court to decide in each particular case when witnesses could be exempted from giving evidence. Moreover, the legal notice regulating appeals to the Board gave the same power to the Board regarding the hearing of witnesses as were vested in the Civil Court, First Hall.
The Court observed that the C.O.C.P. required the courts to order that the best evidence was to be brought before them and that the ITA laid the onus of proving that the assessment complained of was excessive fairly and squarely on the appellant. The C.O.C.P. also gave power to both parties, and to the tribunals acting "ex officio", to require the other party to give evidence.
The only exceptions to this rule were found in the I.T.A. itself which exempted certain relatives and other persons confidentially employed with the appellant from giving evidence. In no way could this exemption be extended to the appellant himself.
BSC Case No: 8/51
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