Invocation of the tax search-transfer provision cannot rest on...

Invocation of the tax search-transfer provision cannot rest on material obtained from public-domain sources or other external records that were not part of the seized documents; reliance on such material defeats the required nexus to seized incriminating material and renders jurisdictional exercise invalid. Where incriminating material "relating to" a third person is transmitted, it is mandatory that the Assessing Officer of the searched person record and communicate a satisfaction note before the jurisdictional Assessing Officer may proceed; proceedings initiated without that satisfaction note are without jurisdiction and unsustainable. Notices founded on external/public material or lacking the mandatory satisfaction note were quashed.

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