59.
| (1) At least fourteen clear days' notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing of an appeal or of a petition for relief shall be given, by the Secretary to the Board to the appellant or, as the case may be, to the person who petitioned the Board (hereafter in this section referred to as the " petitioner ") and to the Commissioner. |
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| (2) Every appellant or petitioner shall attend, either in person or by an authorized representative, the meeting at which the appeal or the petition is heard. |
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| (3) In the case of an appeal, the Assessor who made the assessment appealed against or some other officer of the Department of Inland Revenue authorized by the Commissioner shall attend the meeting of the Board in support of the assessment. In the case of a petition, the Commissioner shall be represented at the meeting at which the petition is heard by an officer of the Department of Inland Revenue authorized by him. |
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| (4) Where, for any reasonable cause notified in writing to the Secretary to the Board, any person who is required under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) to be present at the hearing of an appeal or a petition is unable to do so, the Board may postpone the hearing of the appeal or petition. |
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| (5) Where an authorized representative of an appellant or a petitioner is present at the hearing of an appeal or a petition, the Board may postpone the hearing to enable the appellant or the petitioner, as the case may be, to be present. |
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| (6) The onus of proving that the assessment appealed against is excessive or erroneous shall be on the appellant. |
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| (7) The Board shall hear all appeals and petitions in camera. |
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| (8) The Board shall have power to summon to attend at the hearing of any appeal or petition any person who, in the opinion of the Board, may be able to give evidence respecting the appeal or the petition and may examine him as a witness either on oath or otherwise. Any person so attending may be allowed by the Board any reasonable expenses necessarily incurred by him in so attending. |
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| (9) Except with the consent of the Board and on such terms as the Board may determine, the appellant shall not, at the hearing of an appeal against an assessment, be allowed-
| | (a) to adduce the evidence of any witness who is not mentioned in the list referred to in section 27 or to produce any document which is not included in that list; or | | |
| | (b) to produce any document which he has failed to produce before the Commissioner when required to do so under sub-section (2) of section 28, or to adduce the evidence of any witness whose evidence was not tendered to the Commissioner when called for under that sub-section. | | |
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| (10) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (9), the Board may, at the hearing of an appeal, admit or reject any evidence adduced, whether oral or documentary, and the provisions of the Evidence Ordinance relating to the admissibility of evidence shall not apply. |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts