9911796707
TMI Blog2025 (2) TMI 606X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... DER PER RAJESH KUMAR, AM: This is an appeal preferred by the Revenue and CO by the assessee against the order of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Kolkata-27 (hereinafter referred to as the "Ld. CIT(A)"] dated 30.08.2024 for the AY 2015-16. 02. The Revenue has filed an appeal challenging the order of ld. CIT (A) declaring the entire proceeding u/s 153C of the Act as void and also overlooking the fact that 147 was abated after issuance of notice u/s 153A of the Act and finally challenging the appellate order for not adjudicating the addition made by the ld. AO in respect of bogus loss on trading in F&O of ₹ 10,90,25,940/, whereas the assessee by way of cross objection has challenged the impugned assessment year i.e. 2015-16 as falling beyond the period of six assessment years and therefore, claiming the same to be barred by limitation. First of all, we would adjudicate the ground raised by the assessee in the cross objection which is extracted below:- "1. That, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the Ld. CIT(A) has erred in considering the search date as 06.02.2019 for computing the period of six years as per section 153C(1) of the Act without consid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the purpose of reckoning the period of 6 years assessment years. The ld. CIT (A) dismissed the plea of the assessee by relying on the amendment made u/s 153C of the Act by the Finance Act, 2017. The ld. AO held that the amendment made by the Finance Act, 2017 has clarified that treatment in respect of date of initiation of search for the purpose of section 153C and 153A of the Act which is the one and the same. Ld CIT(A). Prior to the amendment date a satisfaction note used to be considered as date of initiation of search for the purpose of section 153C of the Act. However, 01.04.2017, there is no different between the date of search for the purpose of 153C of the Act and 153A of the Act. 05. The ld. AR vehemently submitted before us that for the purpose of deciding the period of six assessment years, the date of initiation of search u/s 132 of the Act or making requisition u/s 132A of the Act shall be date of which the books of accounts or documents or asset are received from the ld. AO of searched person and i.e. in the present case the date of search was 26th September, 2022. Thereafter, the ld. Counsel for the assessee referred to the provisions of section 153C of the Act o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... neither been omitted nor has been modified even after amendment made by Finance Act 2017. The ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that six assessment years has to be reckoned from the assessment year relevant to financial year in which the search material in the form of documents or assets seized or requisitioned was received by the ld. AO of the non-searched person. In defense of his arguments, the ld. AR relied on the decision of Delhi High Court in case of PCIT vs. Ojjus medicare (P.) Ltd 2024 161 taxmann.com 160 (Delhi), decision of Madras High Court in case of Smt. Pavithra Sugichandran Vs. DCIT [2024] 168 taxmann.com 413 (Madras), Decision of Gujarat High Court in case of Mukesh Manekchand Sheth Vs. ACIT 116 taxmann.com 618 (Gujarat) and decision of Supreme Court in case of ITO Vs. Vikram Sujitkumar Bhatia [2023] 453 ITR 417 (SC). The ld. AR therefore, prayed that since the seized materials having bearing on the determination of the total income of other person i.e. Shri Jaideep Halwasiya for the purpose of invoking provisions u/s 153C of the Act, were received by the ld. AO of the assessee vide e-mail on 26.09.2022, therefore six assessment years have to be computed from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... last year which could be opened was to 2017-18. The case of the assessee find force from the decision of the Hon'ble Delhi HC in case of PCIT vs. Ojjus medicare (P.) Ltd (supra), wherein the Hon'ble court has in para 87 has held as under:- "87. Assuming, therefore, that the handover of material gathered in the course of the search and pertaining to the non-searched person occurred between 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, the same would essentially constitute FY 2021-22 as being the previous year of search for the purposes of the non-searched entity. As a necessary corollary, the relevant AY would become AY 2022-23. AY 2022-23 would thus constitute the starting point for the purposes of identifying the six years which are spoken of in section 153C. The six AYs' are envisaged to be those which immediately precede the AY so identified with reference to the previous year of search. It would thus lead us to conclude that it would be the six AYs' immediately preceding AY 2022- 23 which could have formed the basis for initiation of action under section 153C. Consequently, and reckoned backward, the six relevant AYs' would be:- Computation of the six-year block period ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... section 153-A shall be construed as reference to the date of receiving the books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person." 10.3 Thus, as per the proviso to section 153C as inserted vide Finance Act, 2005, and the effect of the said proviso is that it creates a deeming fiction wherein any reference made to the date of initiation of search is deemed to be a reference made to the date when the Assessing Officer of the non-searched person receives the books of account or documents or assets seized etc. Thus, in the present case, even though the search under section 132 was initiated prior to the amendment to section 153C w.e.f. 1-6- 2015, the books of account or documents or assets were seized by the Assessing Officer of the non-searched person only on 25-4-2017, which is subsequent to the amendment, therefore, when the notice under section 153C was issued on 4-5-2018, the provision of the law existing as on that date, i.e., the amended section 153C shall be applicable." 010. Therefore, considering the facts of the case in the light of the above decisions, we are inclined to hold that the assessmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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