2000 (12) TMI 91

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....zed by it during the search carried out at the premises of the petitioner until an order in terms of section 132(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was passed and, secondly, whether the search and seizure as ordered in terms of section 132(1)(c) of the Act and the consequential orders passed under section 132(5) of the Act by the Assessing Officer and the appellate order passed by the Commissioner under section 132(12) of the Act were correct or not ? Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to these writ petitions are that the Revenue, after obtaining some information about the petitioner having undisclosed income and not paying tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961, carried out the search and in the course of search found an amount of rupees si....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... aspects of the matter and on application of the principles as emanating from various sub-sections of section 132 of the Act, we are of the firm view that there was no disability in law whatsoever as far as the Revenue is concerned in appropriating to itself temporarily the money seized by it until an order is passed in terms of sub-section (5) of section 132 of the Act by the Assessing Officer, because, in our considered opinion, the expression "seizure" as occurring in clause (iii) of sub clause (B) of sub-section (1) of section 132 of the Act empowers the Revenue to remove the money from the place where it has been seized as a consequence of the search made in terms of sub-section (1) of section 132 of the Act. We are saying so becaus....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....after the money has been seized, to allow it to remain in the bank or at such other place or it will be in the interests of the Revenue to remove it from there physically and to keep the same with the Income-tax Department in the account of the Central Government till an appropriate order is passed under sub-section (3) of section 132 of the Act. There can be instances and there can be cases where despite money being found in an account of an assessee maintained in a bank or in a private finance company, the Revenue or the Assessing Officer is of the opinion that it is not safe to keep the money there and, therefore, any order passed under sub-section (3) of section 132 of the Act may be an exercise in futility and, therefore, the removal o....