TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (2) TMI 506
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....ugh the record carefully. It emerges out from the record that the ld.CIT(A) has decided the appeals of ten assessees by impugned common order. Out of those ten, four appeals of the assessees have already been decided by the Tribunal i.e. IT(SS)A.Nos.28, 29, 32 and 33/Ahd/2015 in the cases of Shripal Sampatraj Chowdhary, Yamini Shripal Chowdhary and Sampatraj Lalchand Chowdhary. 4. Brief facts of the case are that a search and seizure operation was carried out at the residential premises of all the assessees under section 132 of the Income Tax Act on 21.9.2011 and 22.9.2011. In order to give logical end to the proceedings, the ld.AO has issued notices under section 153A of the Act on 29.11.2013 requesting all the assesses to file their returns of income. The ld.AO thereafter issued a notice under section 142(1) along with annexures. He observed that during the scours of search gold jewellery, diamond jewellery and silver articles were found from the residence as well as from the lockers. Therefore, the ld.AO has directed the assessee to submit copy of their wealth-tax returns, supporting evidences, date of acquisition of jewellery along with details of jewellery including weight,....
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.... the residence & bank lockers of the assessees. 5. During the course of the assessment proceedings, the assessee was asked to furnish details with respect to jewellery found during search proceedings. The assessee filed a detailed reply which reads as under:- "6. Cash and Jewellary: Gold and Diamond Jewellery Silver Particulars Panchnama date Gross (Gram) Net (Gram) Cart Wt Kg 58 Basant Bahar-Bopal 22.09.2011 801.90 308.90 47.74 81.26 Kalupur Co- operative Bank- Anand nagar locker no. 1412 31.10.2011 2736.60 1680.40 64.60 - Kalupur Co- operative Bank- Anand nagar locker no. 11 434 31.10.2011 2858.75 21 77.30 130.30 - Tamilnad bank- Locker no. 39 09.11.2011 3295.50 2640.35 16.78 -- Sub Total 9792.75 6806.95 259.42 81.26 Kalupur Co- operative Bank- Anand nagar locker no. 243 14.11.2011 728.....
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.... 21.4 24.3 Archana Chowdhary 2137.4 1685.2 13.13 4.5 Sampatraj L. Chowdhary -HUP 827.2 781.7 44.119 43.5 Total 10710.75 9362.308 222 A 89 120.6 e. Reconciliation Particulars Gold Quantity- Gross-(Grams) Diamond Jewellary (Ct) Silver Quantity JKGsl Jewellary found during search proceedings 10521.05 262.18 81.26 Jewellary as per para d 10710.75 222.49 120.6 Excess {Short) found -189.70 39.69 -39.34 Value of Excess found 1389185 f. From the above you may observe that there was excess diamond of 32.69 ct in possession comparison with the wealth tax return filed by all the members of the family. The excess diamond found was seized by your office along-with gold Jewellary as diamond was mounted to gold Jewellary. g. Excess diamond found was disclosed in Assessment Year 2012-13 as a p....
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....cts unearthed during the course of 153A proceedings. If there is nothing on record to suggest that any material was unearthed during the search or during the 153A proceedings, the AO while passing order u/s. 153A r.w.s. 143(3) cannot disturb the assessment order." 10.2. The Hon'ble High Court had an occasion to consider the following questions of law: "1. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Hon'ble ITAT is correct in narrowing down the scope of assessment u/s. 153A in respect of completed assessments by holding that only undisclosed income and undisclosed assets detected during search could be brought to tax? 2. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Hon'ble ITAT is correct in law in holding that the scope of Sec. 153A is limited to assessing only search related income, thereby denying Revenue the opportunity of taxing other escaped income, that comes to the notice of the AO.? 3. Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Hon'ble ITAT was right in limiting the scope of Sec. 153A only to undisclosed income when as per the section the AO has to assess the total i....
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.... How these are different from the proceedings commenced and concluded u/s 143(3) of the Act. There is no doubt that once the proceedings u/s 143(3) are completed and concluded then there is nothing which will abate as per provisions of section 153A of the Act. 9. In our considered opinion, section 153A referred to "pending" "assessment" or "reassessment" and not "assessment orders". The assessment may not be pending even though there is no formal order u/s I43(1)(a). The moment return is filed and acknowledgement or intimation issued, the proceedings initiated by filing the return are closed, unless they are again triggered by issuing notice u/s 143(2) of the IT Act. In the case under consideration, the period for issuing the notice u/s 143(2) elapsed. The process has attained the finality which can only be assailed u/s 148 or 263 of the IT Act. Such proceedings can never be initiated u/s 143(2) when the time period for issuing notice u/s 143(2) has expired. Hon'ble ITAT, Mumbai C Bench in the case of ACIT Vs. Pratibha Industrialist Ltd. reported in 23 ITR Tribunal 766 Mumbai has also held as under :- "Although by proceedings initiated under section 153A all s....
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.... the search, or other post- search material or information available with the AO which can be related to the evidence found, it does not mean that the assessment "can be arbitrary or made without any relevance or nexus with the seized material. Obviously an assessment has to be made under this Section only on the basis of seized material." v. In absence of any incriminating material, the completed assessment can be reiterated and the abated assessment or reassessment can be made. The word 'assess' in Section 153 A is relatable to abated proceedings (i.e. those pending on the date of search) and the word reassess' to completed assessment proceedings. vi. Insofar as pending assessments are concerned, the jurisdiction to make the original assessment and the assessment under Section 153A merges into one. Only one assessment shall be made separately for each AY on the basis of the findings of the search and any other material existing or brought on the record of the AO. vii. Completed assessments can be interfered with by the AO while making the assessment under section 153A only on the basis of some incriminating material unearthed during the cour....