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2014 (11) TMI 437 - AT - Income TaxVlidity of assessment framed u/s 158BC read with sec. 158BD - Period of limitation for block assessment - Earlier proceedings before settlement commission were abated Held that - Appreciations before the Settlement Commission shall not be allowed to be proceeded with unless the additional tax on the income disclosed in such application and the interest is not paid on or before 31st day of July, 2007 - taxes and interest have not been paid on or before 31st day of July, 2007 - the abatement of proceedings before settlement commission is covered u/s 245HA(1)(ii) read with explanation (b) being the specified date i.e. 31st day of July, 2007 - the assessee is covered u/s 245HA(1)(ii) and therefore, the proceedings before the Settlement Commission shall abate on the specified date as referred to in explanation (b) i.e. 31st day of July, 2007 - once the proceedings before the settlement commission are abated on 31st July, 2007 then there cannot be any occasion for the settlement commission to pass any order u/s 245D(4) read with section 245(4A)(i) - Also the proceedings which have been abated once, which is the case of assessee i.e. on 31st day of July, 2007 cannot again abate on a later date i.e. on 31.03.2008 which is the case of revenue - The Act is silent on such a situation thus, the interpretation which favours the assessee, has to be adopted and accordingly the proceedings before the Settlement Commission get abated on 31.03.2007 and the proceedings before the AO get revived on 01.08.2007 thus, the AO was required to pass the assessment order by 31.07.2008, which in fact has been passed on 31.03.2009 and therefore, the assessment by the AO for the block period is barred by limitation - the assessment so made is bad in law and the order of CIT(A) is reversed Decided in favour of assessee.
Issues Involved:
1. Whether the assessment completed by the Assessing Officer (AO) was barred by time. 2. Validity of the assessment framed under section 158BC read with section 158BD. 3. Sufficiency of the issuance of notice under section 158BD and applicability of section 292BB. 4. Completion of block assessment and determination of undisclosed income. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Whether the assessment completed by the Assessing Officer (AO) was barred by time: The primary contention of the assessee was that the assessment completed by the AO was time-barred. The assessee argued that the proceedings before the Settlement Commission abated on 31st July 2007 due to non-payment of additional tax and interest as required by section 245D(2D). Consequently, the AO was required to complete the assessment by 31st July 2008. Since the AO completed the assessment on 31st March 2009, it was argued that the assessment was barred by limitation. The Tribunal agreed with the assessee, stating that the proceedings before the Settlement Commission abated on 31st July 2007, and therefore, the AO should have completed the assessment by 31st July 2008. The assessment completed on 31st March 2009 was thus held to be time-barred. 2. Validity of the assessment framed under section 158BC read with section 158BD: The assessee challenged the validity of the assessment framed under section 158BC read with section 158BD, arguing that the assessment was not justified. However, since the Tribunal decided the first issue in favor of the assessee, it did not delve into the merits of this issue. The Tribunal noted that the legal issue of the assessment being time-barred was sufficient to decide the appeal in favor of the assessee. 3. Sufficiency of the issuance of notice under section 158BD and applicability of section 292BB: The assessee contended that the insufficiency regarding the issuance of notice under section 158BD could not be overcome by the provisions of section 292BB. Again, the Tribunal did not address this issue in detail as it had already decided the appeal in favor of the assessee on the ground of the assessment being time-barred. 4. Completion of block assessment and determination of undisclosed income: The assessee also challenged the completion of the block assessment and the determination of undisclosed income at Rs. 27,73,230/-. As with the other issues, the Tribunal did not address this issue on merits since the appeal was already decided in favor of the assessee based on the first issue. Conclusion: The Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee, holding that the assessment completed by the AO was barred by limitation. Consequently, the Tribunal did not address the other issues raised by the assessee on merits. The appeal was thus decided in favor of the assessee. The order was pronounced in the open court on 30th July 2014.
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