AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (5) TMI 460
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....rom salary, Short Term Capital Gain and income from other sources. A search and seizure action u/s.132(1) was carried out in the case of the assessee on 20.01.2012 and in pursuance of such action, notices u/s.153A was issued on 17.10.2012 for six Assessment Years prior to the year in which search took place and also for the year of search. In response to such notices for all the impugned assessment years, the assessee has filed the return of income declaring the same income as shown in the earlier return of income. During the course of assessment proceedings, a notice u/s. 142(1) was issued to the assessee on 18.07.2013 requiring the assessee to file certain information in respect of HSBC bank account, Geneva Switzerland. The relevant content of the notice which is common for all the years is reproduced hereunder:- F.No. ACIT/CC-18/2013-14/75 Sh. Anurag Dalmia, IInd Floor, Indra Prakash Building, 21, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi PAN: AADPD9439D Sir, Sub: Assessment Proceedings- requisition of information u/s. 142(1) of the I.T. Act for the A.Ys. 2006-07 to 2012-13-reg. Ref: Notice u/s 153A dated 1.7.10.2012, questionnaire dated 26.11.2012, notice u/s 142(1) issued on....
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.... 1961 with regard to certain informations claimed to be available with the department in relation to alleged accounts in HSBC, Geneva, Switzerland, and is surprised to note the contents thereof. In this connection, I would like to submit that I have no connection with any of the alleged accounts and transactions detailed in your notice and deny that any of these accounts, transactions or codes belong to me. Since, these transactions, accounts or codes do not belong to me, there is no question of my receiving any information from HSBC banks, Switzerland, or my submitting any of the details called for in your above referred letter, and also signing any consent letter in this regard. It is further submitted no proceedings u/s 153A are pending for Asstt. year 2012-13." 4. Thereafter, the ld. Assessing Officer issued a show cause notice for levy of penalty u/s.271(1)(b) and in response to which the assessee vide letter dated 30th September, 2013 has submitted his reply as under: "I am surprised to have received your Notice No. ACIT/CC- 2/2013-14/463 dated 26th September, 2013 delivered personally in my office at 5.40 P.M. on 27th September, 2013 requiring me to show cause why pen....
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.... the course of search or later that assessee was having any bank account with HSBC, Geneva Switzerland. Even in the statement recorded u/s.132(4), the assessee has not only categorically denied that he has never maintained any bank account in HSBC, Geneva Switzerland but also during the course of the entire assessment proceedings or investigation proceedings no such documents was shown or produced that assessee was having any bank account with HSBC bank Geneva Switzerland. Regarding the details of information as mentioned in the assessment order, Mr. Bindal submitted that from the bare perusal of the document, it can be seen that there is no mention about HSBC Bank, Geneva Switzerland, and therefore, the information available with the Department prior to the date of search was irrelevant. Even during the course of search, no material or evidence was found to rebut the stand taken by the assessee and during the course of the assessment proceedings also assessee has reiterated the same statement that he has not maintained any such bank account nor he was confronted with any such material. Thus, even the statement cannot be said to be incriminating against the assessee. Once, assessee....
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....n there was no question of signing any waiver form. Under these circumstances, if assessee has not signed the consent waiver then there is a reasonable cause that he was required to do so. The ld. counsel submitted that even till date the Revenue could not produce any information or document showing that assessee was maintaining any bank account with HSBC Geneva Switzerland almost 9 years have lapsed. Once there is no such information available with the Assessing Officer arrived from the date of search till date, then how assessee can be held to be in default for not signing the consent waiver form. Accordingly, he submitted that penalty levied by the Assessing Officer u/s. 271(1)(b) and confirmed by the Ld. CIT(A) is factually illegal and same deserves to be deleted. He has also cited many judicial precedents and decisions, however, the same were not being reproduced hereunder. 11. On the other hand, ld. DR submitted that from the bare perusal of the material and impugned orders, it can be seen that certain information was received to the Government of India from the French Authorities, wherein name of the assessee was appearing and there were certain amounts deposited in the sai....
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....account. This stand has been taken all throughout the proceedings. Even in the statement recorded u/s 132(4) during the course of search, there was no mention of account in HSBC Bank Geneva Switzerland nor was any such information or material confronted to the assessee with the details of particular bank account till the date of initiation and levy of penalty. In response to the said notice u/s. 142(1), the assessee has reiterated the same and has duly complied with in his reply to the Assessing Officer. It is pertaining to note here that in the quantum proceedings from the stage of the Tribunal the entire addition stands deleted on the ground that the same were beyond the scope and ambit of Section 153A. 13. Section 142(1) empowers the Assessing Officer to call for any information or document for the purpose of making an assessment. If scope of the assessment as per the law laid down by the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court in the case of CIT vs. Kabul Chawla, (2016) 380 ITR 0573 (Del), CIT vs. Meeta Gutgutia, 395 ITR 0526 [Del] and PCIT vs. Best Infrastructure (India) Pvt. Ltd., [2017] 397 ITR 82; is circumscribed to the incriminating material found during the course of search, ....