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2024 (4) TMI 837 - AT - Income TaxReopening of assessment v/s assessment u/s 153C - reliance placed by the Ld. AO on the seized material - AR argued that since th AO has acted based on the seized documents in the premises of the searched party, the assessment ought to have been framed u/s. 153C - HELD THAT:- In the instant case, AO has relied upon the agreement of sale (unregistered) dated 6/1/2016 which was seized by the search party. Relying on such information and the seized material, the Ld.AO initiated the proceedings u/s. 147 of the Act. Even though in the order of the Ld. AO, in para 5, the Ld. AO has mentioned about the material available on record for a belief that was formulated for reopening of proceedings u/s. 147 of the Act. No detailed discussion was found in the order of the Ld. AO regarding the material available on record for a belief that was formed enabling the Ld.AO warranting reopening of proceedings u/s. 147 of the Act. The Ld. AO has fully relied on the seized agreement of sale dated 6/1/2016. We find merit in the argument of the AR that section 153C of the Act overrides section 139, 147, 148 and 151 of the Act. Decision of the jurisdictional Coordinate Bench of the Tribunal at Visakhapatnam in the case of Smt. Samanthapudi Lavanya vs. ACIT [2021 (5) TMI 26 - ITAT VISAKHAPATNAM] wherein the Tribunal by relying on various High Court decisions has held that in the absence of any fresh information collected by the Ld. AO or no information has come to the notice of the Ld. AO in the normal course other than the information collected during the course of search from the search person, the Ld. AO ought to have made the assessment u/s. 153C of the Act and not u/s. 147. AO in the instant case ought to have resorted to make the assessment u/s. 153C of the Act whereby heavy reliance placed by the Ld. AO on the seized material. Further, the Ld. AO has not recorded about any information that has come to the notice of the Ld. AO and has solely relied on the seized documents from the premises of the searched person. We are therefore inclined to quash the assessment order as void-ab-initio and thereby allow the Ground No.2 raised by the assessee.
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