2025 (3) TMI 1476

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....ssessing Officer [AO] tabulated hereunder: Sr. Nos. ITA Nos. CIT(A)-30, Delhi Order dated Assessment Order dated Passed under s. 1. 457/Del/2024 [AY-2012-13] 13.12.2023 23.04.2021 153A r.w.s. 254/143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 2 458/Del/2024 [AY-2014-15] -do- -do- -do- 3. 551/Del/2024 [AY 2013-14] 15.12.2023 -do- -do- 4. 553/Del/2024 [AY 2015-16] 13.12.2023 -do- -do- 5. 981/Del/2024 [AY 2012-13] 13.12.2023 -do- -do- 6. 982/Del/2024 [AY 2013-14] 15.12.2023 -do- -do- 7. 983/Del/2024 [AY 2014-15] 13.12.2023 -do- -do- 8. 985/Del/2024 [AY 2015-16] -do- -do- -do- 9. 552/Del/2024 [AY 2014-15] -do- -do- -do- 10. 554/Del/2024 [AY 2015-16] -do- -do- -do- 11. 984/Del/2024 [AY 2015-16] 13.12.2023   153A r.w.s. 254/143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 12. 3809/Del/2023 [AY 2014-15] 31.10.2023 -do- -do- 13. 3816/Del/2023 [AY 2015-16] 30.10.2023 -do- -do- 14. 3810/Del/2023 [AY 2016-17] 31.10.2023 -do- 254 r.w.s. 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 15. 3859/Del/....

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....serted that all the assessment orders all dated 23.04.2021 giving rise to captioned 20 appeals are passed beyond statutory time limits prescribed under s. 153(3) of the Act and are hopelessly time barred. To support such plea, the Ld. Counsel pointed out that the appellate order passed under s. 254(1) of the Act by the ITAT in the first round of proceedings were served by the Tribunal to the office of the CIT- DR on 28.03.2019. This fact of service of the appellate order dated 28-02-2019 passed under s. 254(1) of the Act in the first round has come to the surface in terms of the information supplied to the Assessee under the RTI Act, 2005 dated F. No. 39/RTI/2024 dated 27.11.2024 by CPIO, ITAT. Owing to the service of the order passed by the ITAT on the CIT-DR in Feb. 2019, the limitation period would thus begin to run from the date of service of the appellate order. The time limit available to the AO under s. 153 (3) for passing fresh assessment order in pursuance of appellate order of the ITAT comes to an end on 31-12-2019. The impugned assessment orders under s. 143(3) r.w.s 254 have however been passed on 23.04.2021 i.e. beyond more than 15 months of the statutory time limit. T....

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....s received by the office of CIT (Judicial) as well as CIT, Central-3 on 08.04.2019 and therefore, the time limit for passing the assessment order is set in motion from that date and not any time prior thereto. The Ld. CIT-DR contended that the service of appellate order passed by the Tribunal to the Office of the CIT-DR per se do not trigger the statutory time limit for the purposes of computation of time limit available to redo assessment under s. 143(3) r.w.s 254(1) of the Act. It is the service of order on the prescribed authorities viz. Pr. CCIT/ CCIT/Pr. CIT/ or CIT as the case may be, which is relevant for start of limitation period. The service of ITAT order on authority namely Commissioner (CIT, Central-3) is thus relevant for the purposes of ascertainment of statutory time limit for passing fresh assessment order. 4.1. To prop up such contention, the Ld. CIT-DR adverted to s.153(3) of the Act regulating the statutory time limit for passing fresh assessment order in pursuance of an appellate order passed under s. 254 of the Act and contended that the time limit for passing an assessment order available to the AO is 12 months from the end of the FY in which the order of t....

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....under section 254 or section 263 or section 264, setting aside or cancelling an assessment, may be made at any time before the expiry of nine months from the end of the financial year in which the order under section 254 is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or, as the case may be, the order under section 263 or section 264 is passed by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner: [Provided that where the order under section 254 is received by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or, as the case may be, the order under section 263 or section 264 is passed by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner on or after the 1st day of April, 2019, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect, as if for the words "nine months", the words "twelve months" had been substituted." 6. The Identical controversy towards bar of limitation came up for adjudication before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of Surendra Kumar Jain, Virendra Kumar Jain vs Pr.CIT (Central-III), New Delhi & Anr. (2018) 406 ITR 328 (Del). The Hon'ble Delhi High took c....