The High Court held that the Assessing Officer (AO) lacked ...

Lack of jurisdiction for AO to invoke Sec 153C without receiving material from searched party, but can reopen under Sec 148A.

Case Laws     Income Tax

November 25, 2024

The High Court held that the Assessing Officer (AO) lacked jurisdiction to initiate proceedings u/s 153C of the Income Tax Act, as the necessary threshold condition of receiving books of accounts or material from the AO of the searched person was not met. However, the AO was not precluded from initiating proceedings u/s 148A based on the information available through the insight portal, suggesting that the assessee's income had escaped assessment for the relevant assessment year. The case was covered by the Supreme Court's decision in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax v. Abhisar Buildwell (P.) Ltd., which addressed the jurisdictional condition for invoking Section 153C. Additionally, the question of whether Section 153C precludes reopening assessments u/s 147/148 based on information found during a search or requisition concerning another person was also addressed against the petitioner.

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