Where incriminating material relating to the assessee was found...

Where incriminating material relating to the assessee was found only during search/survey action conducted at a third party's premises, the statutory trigger for assessment is s.153C and not reassessment under ss.147/148. Since there was no search on the assessee and the Revenue's case arose entirely from material seized from the third party allegedly engaged in providing accommodation entries through rigged shares, initiation and completion of assessment under s.147 read with s.144B lacked jurisdiction. Consequently, the reassessment order was held void ab initio and was quashed, granting relief to the assessee. - ITAT