2024 (2) TMI 340

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....Shri A.K.Rastogi, learned Senior Counsel for the assessee-respondent. 2. The appeal arises from the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal') dated 04.07.2017 for the assessment year 2002-03 and raises a question of law, which is re-framed as follows:- Whether the ITAT was justified in finding the assessment passed under Section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'), pursuant to search and seizure, bad, on the consideration that no assessment proceedings were pending as on the date of initiation of proceedings under Section 153A? 3. In the assessment year 2002-03, the original assessment of the assessee was completed under Section 143(3) of the Act....

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....ad with Section 143(3) of the Act before the 1st Appellate Authority, without success. The Tribunal, however, reversed the order of the 1st Appellate Authority and the Assessing Officer, and held the assessment to have been completed as on the date of initiation of proceeding under Section 153A of the Act. Hence, there were no proceedings pending, of an assessment, for it to abate as on the date of initiation of proceedings under Section 153A, was the finding. 6. The Tribunal relied on a judgment of the High Court of Delhi in Commissioner of Income Tax v. Kabul Chawla; [2016] 380 ITR 573 (Delhi), which has been affirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Principal Commissioner of Income-Tax v. Abhisar Buildwell P. Ltd.; [2023] 454 ITR 212(S....

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....be strictly made on the basis of evidence found in the course of the search, or other post-search material or information available with the Assessing Officer 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 the seized material." (v) In the 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 153A is relatable to abated proceedings (i.e., those pending on the date of search) and the word "reassess" to the completed assessment pro....