Section 153C limitation for non-searched persons ran from satisfaction note date, excluding Assessment Year 2015-16.

For a non-searched person, the six assessment years under section 153C run from the date seized material is handed over to the Assessing Officer or the date the satisfaction note is recorded. Here, the satisfaction note was recorded on 24.12.2021 and notice under section 153C was issued on 30.12.2021, both in financial year 2021-22. On that basis, the permissible block covered Assessment Years 2016-17 to 2021-22, so Assessment Year 2015-16 fell outside the statutory period and the assessment could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether assessment for Assessment Year 2015-16 under section 153C could be sustained when the satisfaction note was recorded and notice was issued in financial year 2021-22, thereby making the six-year block run only from Assessment Year 2016-17 onwards.

Analysis: The relevant date for computing the six assessment years in the case of a non-searched person is the date on which the seized material is handed over to the Assessing Officer of such person or the date on which the satisfaction note is recorded under section 153C. On the facts, the satisfaction note was recorded on 24.12.2021 and notice under section 153C was issued on 30.12.2021, both falling in financial year 2021-22 relevant to Assessment Year 2022-23. Applying that reckoning, the six-year period extended only from Assessment Year 2016-17 to Assessment Year 2021-22, and Assessment Year 2015-16 lay outside the permissible period.

Conclusion: The assessment for Assessment Year 2015-16 was beyond the six-year limit under section 153C and was not sustainable.

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