In an abated search assessment under section 153A, the return...

In an abated search assessment under section 153A, the return filed in response to the search notice substituted the earlier return, so the assessee could make a fresh or altered claim and the Revenue could not apply reassessment principles; the lease rentals from the IT park/SEZ were accepted as business income in line with the CBDT circular and past departmental acceptance. On disallowance under section 14A, the Tribunal sustained restriction of the disallowance under normal provisions to exempt income and upheld that section 14A read with Rule 8D could not be mechanically applied for book profit computation, subject to direct expenditure. The notional annual letting value of unsold stock-in-trade was deleted because section 23(5) operated only prospectively from assessment year 2018-19.

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