TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2014 (8) TMI 425
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....153C of the said Act has not been satisfied and, therefore, the notices are without jurisdiction and ought to be quashed. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that Section 153C permits the issuance of a notice by an Assessing Officer of a person who has not been searched, on the basis of a satisfaction note prepared by the Assessing Officer of a searched person indicating that during the search certain documents belonging to the other person (the person not searched) were found. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that before a notice under Section 153C can be issued in the manner indicated, the Assessing Officer of the searched person must arrive at a positive satisfaction that the documents belong to the person not searched. He submitted that in the first instance a presumption is created by virtue of the provisions of Section 132(4A)(i) of the said Act that the documents belong to the searched person. A similar presumption is also indicated by the provisions of Section 292C of the said Act. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that, therefore, before the Assessing Officer of the searched person can be said to have arrived at the satisfaction ....
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....ces under Section 153C. 4. Referring to the decision of a Division Bench of this court in SSP Aviation Ltd. (supra), the learned counsel for the Revenue submitted that the issuance of the notice under Section 153C is only a first step to the enquiry which is to follow. He submitted that once the Assessing Officer of the searched person arrives at the satisfaction that a document found during the search operation related to a person other the searched person, then it could be said that the said document belonged to such other person and the Assessing Officer was then bound to forward the document to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the other person (the person not searched), and, thereafter, it was for that Assessing Officer to follow the procedure prescribed under Section 153A in an attempt to ensure that the income reflected in the seized documents had been accounted for by the other person (the person not searched). 5. We have considered the submissions made by the counsel for the parties. Before proceeding any further it would be necessary to set out the relevant provisions of the said Act as applicable to the assessment years under consideration:- "153C. ....
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.... xxxx (4A) Where any books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing are or is found in the possession or control of any person in the course of a search, it may be presumed- (i) That such books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing belong or belongs to such person; xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx" "292C.(1) Where any books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing are or is found in the possession or control of any person in the course of a search under section 132 or survey under section 133A, it may, in any proceeding under this Act, be presumed- (i) that such books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing belong or belongs to such person; xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx" 6. On a plain reading of Section 153C, it is evident that the Assessing Officer of the searched person must be "satisfied" that inter alia any document seized or requisitioned "belongs to" a person other than the searched person. It is only then that the Assessing Officer of the searched person can handover such document....
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....and the facts of that case are clearly distinguishable from the facts of the present case. Insofar as the decision of the Allahabad High Court in Classic Enterprises (supra) is concerned, we are, with respect, unable to agree with the observations that as the proceedings are at the very initial stage the "satisfaction" is neither required to be firm or conclusive. We say so because we are of the view that this conclusion of the Allahabad High Court is premised on a consideration of the provisions of Section 158BD of the said Act which are entirely different from Section 153C. Under Section 158BD the Assessing Officer‟s satisfaction is with regard to „undisclosed income‟ belonging to a person other than the searched person. It is obvious that such satisfaction under Section 158BD by its very nature has to be prima facie and tentative. The same methodology cannot be imported into Section 153C where, in our view, the Assessing Officer is required to arrive at a conclusive satisfaction that the document belongs to a person other than the searched person because such Assessing Officer has to rebut the normal presumptions which are suggested by the statute under Section....
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....ave been lower. However raw material are being procured on a high rates resulting in lower taxable income. The bottler shall buy all units of concentrate required for the manufacture f the beverage from PFL (Pepsi Foods Ltd.), or a manufacturer approved in writing by PFL (Pepsi Foods Ltd.) at a price and in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the seller. Being the sole supplier of concentrate to Jaipuria Group, Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. is closely associated to Jaipuria Gr. During the post search investigation, summons were issued to M/s Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. to furnish certain details. The complete details were not furnished. The following documents were also found and seized during the course of search and seizure action u/s 132(1) of I.T. Act, 1961 belonging to (PFL) M/s Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. (PAN:AAACP1557E) over which the jurisdiction lies with the undersigned:- rty/Ann./Page No. Description of Annexure C-4/A-2/77 This page contains summary of PFL Claims as on 29-11-2011 (Claims up to 31/10/2011) C-4/A-4/18-20 These pages contain a detail of D VAT impact (April‟ 10- June‟ 10) Vs PFL Support report and MRP Plan. C-4/A-4/21-....