9911796707
|
Home
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2023 (8) TMI 1343 - HC - Income TaxAssessment u/s 153C - Scope of amended provision to proceedings emerging from searches initiated prior to 01.06.2015 - as argued documents seized from third party there were no handwriting of the assess as well as no address of the assessee has been mentioned - whether documents seized during the course of the search did not belong to the assessee? - HELD THAT - Hon ble Supreme Court in case of Income Tax officer vs. Vikram Sujitkumar Bhatia 2023 (4) TMI 296 - SUPREME COURT dealing with identical issue held common judgment and order passed by the High Court is held to be unsustainable and the question, i.e., Whether the amendment brought to Section 153C vide Finance Act, 2015 would be applicable to searches conducted under Section 132 of the Act, 1961 before 01.06.2015, i.e., the date of amendment? , is answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessees and is answered accordingly. Thus the amendment brought to Section 153C of the Act, 1961 vide Finance Act, 2015 shall be applicable to searches conducted under Section 132 of the Act, 1961 before 01.06.2015, i.e., the date of the amendment. The appeal is required to be allowed and is accordingly allowed. The impugned order dated 23.11.2022 passed by the Tribunal is hereby quashed and set aside by answering the question of law in affirmative and the matter is remanded back to the CIT (Appeals) to decide the same on merits.
Issues involved:
The judgment deals with the interpretation of section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in the context of a search conducted prior to the amendment brought by the Finance Act, 2015. Summary: Issue 1: Validity of notice under section 153C of the Act The Tax Appeal was filed challenging the assessment proceedings under section 153C of the Act, arising from a search conducted in 2013. The appellant contended that the amended provision should apply retrospectively to the search initiated before 01.06.2015. The appellant relied on a decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a similar case. The search revealed cash transactions and unexplained investments by the assessee-firm. The Assessing Officer issued a notice under section 153C to reopen past assessments based on the material found during the search. The assessee challenged the notice, arguing that the seized documents did not belong to them, and therefore, the Assessing Officer lacked jurisdiction to assess income under section 153C. The CIT(A) allowed the appeal, holding that the documents did not belong to the assessee. The Tribunal dismissed the Revenue's appeal, citing precedents and the requirement that incriminating documents must belong to the assessee for section 153C to apply. Issue 2: Applicability of the amendment to section 153C The Hon'ble Supreme Court, in a similar case, upheld the validity of a notice issued under section 153C, emphasizing the objective of the section to address persons other than the searched individual. The Court rejected the argument that the amendment should not apply retrospectively, as it would frustrate the purpose of the section. The Court held that the amendment would be applicable to searches conducted before 01.06.2015. Consequently, the High Court quashed the previous judgment, allowing the appeal and remanding the matter back to the CIT (Appeals) for further consideration on other grounds. In conclusion, the High Court upheld the applicability of the amendment to section 153C to searches conducted before 01.06.2015, based on the Supreme Court's decision in a similar case. The judgment emphasized the importance of incriminating documents belonging to the assessee for the Assessing Officer to assume jurisdiction under section 153C. The matter was remanded back to the CIT (Appeals) for consideration on other grounds, as per the Supreme Court's ruling.
|
