TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (8) TMI 453
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....posed off by way of this consolidated order. ITA no.882/Mum.2022 Assessee's Appeal - A.Y. 2015-16 3. The present appeal is filed after a delay of 333 days. As per the assessee, the impugned final assessment order dated 06/04/2021 was received by the assessee on 07/04/2021. In response to the defect notice issued by the Registry, the assessee submitted that due to pandemic-related restrictions in the State of Maharashtra which existed in 2021, its offices were closed and physical printing as well as filing of hard copy appeal was not possible at that time. Therefore, the assessee submitted the appeal documents via email on 04/06/2021. In this regard, the assessee has also furnished a copy of the email dated 04/06/2021, marked to the Registry of the Tribunal. It is evident from the record that the assessee filed the appeal in physical form on 05/05/2022, before the Tribunal. We find that vide order dated 10/01/2022, passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in M.A. no.21 of 2022, in M.A. no.665 of 2021, in Suo-Motu Writ Petition (Civil) no.3 of 2020, the limitation period for filing the appeal was extended upto 29/05/2022. In view of the above, since the present appeal has be....
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....ioned herein and to submit such statements, documents and papers as may be considered necessary either at or before the appeal hearing." 5. Since, the issue raised by way of additional grounds is a legal issue, which can be decided on the basis of material available on record, we are of the view that the same can be admitted for consideration and adjudication in view of the ratio laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in NTPC Ltd vs CIT: [1998] 229 ITR 383 (SC). 6. By way of the aforesaid additional grounds, the assessee has challenged the validity of the final assessment order on the basis that the same is beyond the time limit prescribed under section 153 of the Act. Since this is a jurisdictional issue, therefore, we deem it appropriate to deal with this jurisdictional aspect first and if necessary thereafter, to deal with the other issues raised in the present appeal. 7. The brief facts of the case pertaining to this issue are: The assessee company is an infrastructure and engineering company belonging to Siemens group based in Germany. For the year under consideration, the assessee filed its original return of income on 30/11/2015, declaring a total income of Rs. 1425....
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....er authorities are within the time limit prescribed under the Act and therefore are validly passed. 10. We have considered the submissions of both sides and perused the material available on record. The assessment year under consideration before us is the assessment year 2015-16. As per the provisions of section 153(1) of the Act, the time limit for completion of the assessment is 21 months from the end of the assessment year. Therefore, in the present case, the due date for completion of the assessment was 31/12/2017. Section 153(4) of the Act further provides that in case of a reference to the TPO under section 92CA(1) of the Act, the period available for completion of the assessment shall be extended by 12 months. In the present case, it cannot be disputed that the reference under section 92CA(1) of the Act was made by the AO on 19/09/2017, for the determination of ALP of all the international transactions reported by the assessee. Thus, the aforesaid time period for completion of the assessment was extended to 31/12/2018. We further find that in the present case, the assessee had entered into an Advance Pricing Agreement ("APA") with CBDT on 08/06/2017, in respect of its hea....
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....res'. Excluding 31-12-2019, the period of 60 days would expire on 1-11-2019 and the transfer pricing orders thus ought to have been passed on 31-10-2019 or any date prior thereto. Incidentally, the Board, in the Central Action Plan also indicates the date by which the Transfer Pricing orders are to be passed as 31-10-2019. The impugned orders are thus, held to be barred by limitation." 12. Therefore, in Pfizer Healthcare India Private Ltd (supra), the Hon'ble Madras High Court held that the TPO should pass the order on or before 31st October in case the limitation period for completing the assessment is expiring on 31st December of the year. We further find that the Hon'ble Madras High Court in DCIT v/s Saint Gobain India (P.) Ltd, [2022] 444 ITR 636 (Mad.) affirmed the decision rendered in Pfizer Healthcare India Private Ltd (supra). Since, in the present case, the due date for completing the assessment proceedings was 31/12/2019, therefore, in view of the aforesaid decisions, the due date for passing the order under section 92CA(3) of the Act was 31/10/2019. However, as noted above, the TPO passed the order under section 92CA(3) of the Act on 01/11/2019. Thus, respectfully....
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....A) & 143(3B) of the Income-tax act (the Act) is barred by limitation in terms of the timeline prescribed under the provisions of section 153(1) of the Act, and hence, the said assessment order is void-ab-initio, bad in law and liable to be quashed. Ground No. 35 On the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the order dated 01 November 2019 passed by the Joint Commissioner of Income-tax (Transfer Pricing)-41) (the learned TPO) under section 92CA of the the Act is beyond the time limit prescribed under section 92CA (3A) r.w.s. 153 of the Act, thus making the transfer pricing order illegal, bad in law, null and void and liable to be quashed. Ground No. 36 On the facts and in the circumstances of the case and in law, the transfer pricing order being illegal and void on account of being barred by limitation in terms of section 92CA(3A) r.w.s. 153 of the Act, the action of the Assessing Officer in passing the draft assessment order dated 30 December 2019 by invoking section 144C of the Act is without jurisdiction and hence, all the proceedings consequent to the draft assessment order are also illegal and bad in law and liable to be quas....