(a) Upon its own initiative or upon application by a party, the Board may, in its discretion, order a party to submit a more definite statement of the complaint or answer, or to reply to an answer.

(b) When issues within the proper scope of an appeal, but not raised in the pleadings, have been raised without objection or with permission of the Board at a hearing or in record submissions, they may be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings. If evidence is objected to at a hearing on the ground that it is not within the issues raised by the pleadings, in its discretion the Board may admit the evidence and grant the objecting party a continuance or other relief if necessary to enable it to meet such evidence.