Completed search assessments need incriminating material; statutory share documents already in books cannot sustain additions under section 68.

In completed search assessment years, additions under section 68 could not be sustained where the seized material consisted of statutory forms and documents already recorded in the books and reflected in public filings, and therefore was not incriminating material for section 153A. Applying the settled rule that completed assessments under section 153A may be disturbed only on the basis of incriminating search material, the Tribunal deleted the additions. The challenge to approval under section 153D was left open, while the jurisdictional objection under section 153A was withdrawn. The Revenue's appeals were dismissed and the assessee's cross objections were partly allowed.

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Issues: Whether additions made under section 68 in search assessments for completed or unabated assessment years could be sustained when the seized documents were claimed to be non-incriminating and already reflected in the regular books and public filings.

Analysis: The assessment years in dispute were completed years on the date of search. The additions rested on seized papers relating to share allotment and on statements and financial analysis of alleged investor companies. The Tribunal found that the relied-upon papers were statutory forms and documents already recorded in the books of account and filed in the public domain, and therefore did not constitute incriminating material for the purpose of section 153A. Following the settled principle that completed assessments under section 153A can be disturbed only on the basis of incriminating material unearthed during search, the Tribunal held that the additions could not be sustained. The separate challenge to validity of approval under section 153D was not adjudicated and was left open, while the objection regarding jurisdiction under section 153A was withdrawn.

Conclusion: The additions were deleted for the completed assessment years, and the Revenue's appeals were dismissed while the assessee's cross objections were partly allowed.

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