Appeals Allowed Due to Time-Barred Orders Under Section 153B

The appeals were allowed as the orders under section 153C were found to be time-barred under section 153B due to being passed after the prescribed deadline. The additional ground raised by the assessees' representative regarding the limitation was accepted, rendering other grounds irrelevant. Consequently, the appeals were allowed, and the orders were deemed time-barred. The judgment was issued on May 17, 2017.

---

---

Issues:
Appeals against separate orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) for multiple assessment years. Additional ground raised regarding the assessment order being barred by limitation under section 153B.

Analysis:
The assessees filed appeals against orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) for various assessment years. During the hearing, the authorized representative of the assessees raised an additional ground claiming that the assessment orders were time-barred under section 153B. The search and seizure operation under section 132 revealed documents related to the assessees, which were handed over to the Assessing Officer on a specific date. The Assessing Officer issued notices under section 153C based on these documents, completing assessments by a certain date.

Analysis (contd.):
The provisions of section 153B specify time limits for completing assessments under sections 153A and 153C. The time limit for passing orders under section 153C was calculated based on the date of search and the date the documents were handed over to the Assessing Officer. It was noted that the orders under section 153C in these cases were passed after the prescribed deadline of December 31, 2012. Therefore, it was concluded that the orders under section 153C were indeed time-barred and could not be sustained.

Conclusion:
The additional ground raised by the authorized representative of the assessees regarding the orders being barred by limitation was allowed. As a result, all other grounds raised by the assessees became irrelevant in light of this decision. Consequently, the appeals of the respective assessees were allowed, and the orders were deemed to be time-barred under section 153B. The judgment was pronounced on May 17, 2017.

---