S. SANKARASUBBAN, J.

This tax revision case is filed against the order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Additional Bench, Kozhikode. Petitioner is the proprietor of M/s. Prabhakaran and Company. The company deals in petroleum products as agent of Bharath Petroleum Corporation at Calicut. The petitioner is a registered dealer under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

For the assessment year 1991-92, the petitioner declared a total and taxable turnover of Rs. 94, 36, 772.27 and Rs. 60 respectively and claimed exemption on a turnover of Rs. 94, 36, 716, which represented second sales turnover of petroleum products. The petitioner being an agent of M/s. Bharath Petroleum Corporation gets supply of petroleum products only from the Corporation and not from any other source. The accounts submitted by the petitioner were rejected by the Additional Sales Tax Officer, II Circle, Kozhikode and final assessment was completed by order dated August 11, 1993 by estimating the taxable turnover at Rs. 70, 77, 640 as against Rs. 60 declared. The accounts of the petitioner were rejected mainly on the basis of two inspections conducted in the place of business by the Intelligence Squad, Kozhikode, on October 5, 1991 and on January 19, 1992.

On the basis of the inspection on October 5, 1991, the Intelligence Officer estimated a sales turnover of Rs. 1, 66, 455 as suppression and imposed a penalty of Rs. 65, 000. For the inspection held on January 19, 1992, the suppression was estimated at Rs. 90, 767.02 and a penalty of Rs. 25, 000 was imposed. Based on these penalties, the Sales Tax Officer issued a pre-assessment notice dated May 14, 1992 proposing to reject the return and accounts and to make an estimated addition of Rs. 18, 18, 313 for the year 1991-92. The above notice was issued without verifying the accounts for the year 1991-92. Upon the receipt of the above notice, petitioner submitted a letter dated June 7, 1997 objecting to the proposal and expressing his readiness to produce the books of accounts for scrutiny. Thereafter, the accounts were verified and the assessing officer issued a second pre-assessment notice dated June 15, 1993 proposing to make an addition of Rs. 70, 77, 579. When the petitioner received the second pre-assessment notice, he filed a detailed objection. The objections were rejected by the Sales Tax Officer and the assessment was completed on the basis of the estimate of the assessing officer. Appeal filed before the Additional Appellate Assistant Commissioner was dismissed. Appeal filed against that before the Appellate Tribunal was also dismissed.The main contention advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioner Shri T. M. Sreedharan is that the turnover has been estimated on the basis of certain materials of which the petitioner was not given an opportunity to explain his case. He contended that it may be true that when the materials are recovered from the place of business, there is a presumption that it belongs to the assessee. But it is only a rebuttable presumption and the assessee can rebut the presumption, if he was given an opportunity for the same. For example, the petitioner points out one of the items of suppression with regard to 12, 000 litres of high speed diesel oil for Rs. 58, 922. The above quantity of 12, 000 litres is a sale by M/s. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Kozhikode, in favour of M/s. Mahe Beach Trading Company, Mahe. The document relied on for the estimate by the assessing officer is a slip No. 8, which is a draft purchased by M/s. Mahe Beach Trading Company, Mahe, on October 1, 1991 for a sum of Rs. 30, 000 from the Kozhikode District Co-operative Bank Limited, Kozhikode, in favour of M/s. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Kozhikode. M/s. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Kozhikode, sold 12, 000 litres of diesel valued at Rs. 58, 922 in favour of M/s. Mahe Beach Trading Company, Mahe, and the sum of Rs. 30, 000 was a part payment for the above transact