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2023 (10) TMI 980 - HC - Income TaxValidity of assessment u/s 153C - As argued Notice issued u/s 153C has not mentioned/specified the satisfaction note recorded by the 2nd respondent of the searched person and satisfaction notes do not bear the DIN number - HELD THAT - The satisfaction notes recorded by the Assessing Authority, which have been placed on record would suggest that the Assessing Authority has examined the documents and recorded satisfaction for issuing notices u/s 153C. The petitioner has demanded the satisfaction note, and the letter issued by the ACIT whereby the satisfaction notes have been provided to the petitioner on his demand, would disclose that the letter bears the DIN number. The satisfaction note need not bear the DIN number, and this Court does not find any substance in the submission of the learned Counsel for the petitioner that since the satisfaction notes do not bear the DIN number, whole proceedings are invalid. The satisfaction note is a document prepared by the Assessing Authority which is kept in the file, and unless an assessee demands the satisfaction note, it is not required to be provided to the assessee. Therefore, there is no requirement to have a DIN number in the satisfaction note recorded by the Assessing Authority. Thus it cannot be said that the impugned notices and assessment orders are without jurisdiction as submitted by the learned Counsel for the petitioner.
Issues involved: Impugning notices under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act for multiple Assessment Years, jurisdiction of Assessment Orders, satisfaction note requirement, validity of proceedings, relevance of satisfaction notes bearing DIN number.
Jurisdiction of Assessment Orders: The petitioner challenged Assessment Orders for the Assessment Years 2015-16 to 2021-22 issued under Section 153C of the IT Act, claiming that they were without jurisdiction and against the law. The petitioner contended that the Assessing Officer must record a satisfaction note before issuing notices under Section 153C to a person other than the searched person. The notices issued did not mention the satisfaction note recorded by the Assessing Officer. The petitioner argued that the proceedings were invalid due to the absence of the DIN number on the satisfaction notes provided. The petitioner approached the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India without going to the Appellate Authority. Validity of Proceedings: A search operation revealed incriminating documents indicating unaccounted income and diversion of business funds to evade taxation. The Assessing Officer issued notices under Section 153C to the petitioner for the Assessment Years 2015-16 to 2020-21 based on evidence gathered during the search. The Assessment Orders were finalized after following the procedure under Section 153C. The satisfaction notes provided to the petitioner were found to have been examined by the Assessing Authority, satisfying the requirement for issuing notices under Section 153C. Relevance of Satisfaction Notes: The petitioner demanded the satisfaction note, which was provided by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. The petitioner argued that the absence of the DIN number on the satisfaction notes rendered the proceedings invalid. However, the Court found that the satisfaction note does not need to bear the DIN number. The judgment cited by the petitioner was deemed inapplicable to the present case as the facts were distinguishable. The Court concluded that the impugned notices and assessment orders were not without jurisdiction, and the writ petition was dismissed, allowing the petitioner to appeal against the assessment orders if desired.
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