TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (7) TMI 843
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....r of Shri Prahlad Kumar Aggarwal had recorded his satisfaction dated 24.9.2021 and handed over the seized material to the Learned AO of appellant / assessee. The seized material were perused and arriving at satisfaction that the information contained in seized documents pertained to assessee and have a bearing on determination of income of assessee recorded satisfaction note on 24.3.2022. Notice under section 153C was issued on 29.3.2022. Notices under section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were issued on 26.10.2022 and along with questionnaire dated 24.11.2022. Thereafter vide assessments order dated 26.12.2022 for AY 2011-12 and 2012-13 were completed at an income of Rs. 1,86,78,520/- and Rs. 2,93,49,503/- respectively. 3. Being aggrieved appellant/assessee preferred present appeals. 4. Learned AR for the appellant/assessee submitted assessment years involved are AYs 2011-12 & 2012-13 and impugned years could not be taken up for the assessment under section 153C. Date of satisfaction note was 24.09.2021 and handed over date is also the same which was 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2022 and was beyond the period of 10 years. Reference to judgment dated 3.4.2024 of Hon'ble Court of Delh....
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....First Proviso to Section 153C. 87. Assuming, therefore, that the handover of material gathered in the course of the search and pertaining to the non-searched person occurred between 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, the same would essentially constitute FY 2021-22 as being the previous year of search for the purposes of the non-searched entity. As a necessary corollary, the relevant AY would become AY 2022-23. AY 2022-23 would thus constitute the starting point for the purposes of identifying the six years which are spoken of in Section 153C. The six AYs' are envisaged to be those which immediately precede the AY so identified with reference to the previous year of search. It would thus lead us to conclude that it would be the six AYs' immediately preceding AY 2022- 23 which could have formed the basis for initiation of action under Section 153C. Consequently, and reckoned backward, the six relevant AYs' would be:- Computation of the six-year block period as provided under Section 153C of the Act No. of years AY 2021-22 1 AY 2020-21 2 AY 2019-20 3 AY 2018-19 4 AY 2017-18 5 AY 2016-17 6 Consequently, AY 2021-22 would become the first of the six preceding AYs' ....
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....id precepts, it would be manifest that AY 2022-23 would form the first year of the block of ten AYs' and with the maximum period of ten AYs' terminating in AY 2013-14. We, in this regard also bear in consideration the following instructive passages as appearing in the decision handed down by a learned Judge of the Madras High Court in A.R. Safiullah. We deem it appropriate to extract the following paragraphs from that decision:- "9. Explanation-I is clear as to the manner of computation of the ten assessment years. It clearly and firmly fixes the starting point. It is the end of the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted or requisition is made. There cannot be any doubt that since search was made in this case on 10.04.2018, the assessment year is 2019-20. The end of the assessment year 2019-20 is 31.03.2020. The computation of ten years has to run backwards from the said date ie., 31.03.2020. The first year will of course be the search assessment year itself. In that event, the ten assessment years will be as follows : 1st Year 2019-20 2nd Year 2018-19 3rd Year 2017-18 4th Year 2016-17 5th Year 2015-16 6th Year 2014-15 7th Ye....
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....as been established, the maintainability of the writ petition cannot be in doubt." In our considered opinion, the decision in A.R. Safiullah correctly expounds the legal position and the interpretation liable to be accorded to the identification of the ten AYs' which are spoken of in Sections 153A and 153C. 92. List II, forming part of this batch pertains to cases where Satisfaction Notes of the AO of the non-searched person were drawn between the period 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 and 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Tested on the principles enunciated by us in the preceding passages of this judgment, we come to the conclusion that the relevant six AYs' would comprise the following years, when computed for the period 01 April 2022 to 31 March 2023:- Computation of the six-year block period as provided under Section 153C of the Act No. of years AY 2022-23 1 AY 2021-22 2 AY 2020-21 3 AY 2019-20 4 AY 2018-19 5 AY 2017-18 6 93. The relevant block of six AYs' when computed for the period of 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 would be the following: Computation of the six-year block period as provided under Section 153C of the Act No. of years AY 2023-24 1....