TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (7) TMI 1799
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....irmation of addition of Rs. 46.87 Lacs. 2. The Ld. AR advanced arguments on legal grounds and placed reliance on certain decision of this Tribunal to plead that assessment ought to have been framed u/s 153C and not u/s 147. The Ld. AR also assailed additions on merits. The Ld. CIT-DR, on the other hand, controverted the arguments of Ld. AR. Having heard rival submissions and upon perusal of case records, the appeal is disposed off as under. 3. A notice u/s 148 was issued to the assessee on 17-05-2017. The case was reopened pursuant to search and seizure action in the case of M/s Longowalla Group of cases on 04-09-2014 which also covered partners of the assessee-firm. During search on partners, certain notebooks were found and seized which....
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....ubhash Chander Gupta (ITA Nos.765/Chd/2024 dated 07-04-2025) as under: - 9. We have considered the rival contentions and have gone through the record carefully. Section 153(C) of the income after its amendment by Finance Act, 2015 has a direct bearing on the controversy, therefore, we deem it appropriate to take note of this Section, which read as under : 153C. Assessment of income of any other person.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 139, section 147, section 148, section 149, section 151 and section 153, where the Assessing Officer is satisfied that,- (a) any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing, seized or requisitioned, belongs to; or (b) any books of account or documents, seized or requis....
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....n respect of such other person, in which the Assessing Officer shall not be required to issue notice for assessing or reassessing the total income for six assessment years immediately preceding the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted or requisition is made and for the relevant assessment year or years as referred to in sub-section (1) of section 153-A except in cases where any assessment or reassessment has abated. (2) Where books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned as referred to in sub-section (1) has or have been received by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person after the due date for furnishing the return of income for the assessment year relevant ....
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....person referred in Section 153A, then AO of the searched person would record his satisfaction and transmit those materials to the AO of such other person qua whom these materials have been found during the course of search. Prior to Finance Act, 2015, this Section was not in the present shape. It has been divided in two categories post 2015. The first limb of Section deals with items discovered in physical form i.e. money, bullion, jewellery and the second limb of Section provides if any books of account, documents seized or requisitioned pertains or pertains to or any information contained therein pertains to a person other than the person covered under Section 153A, then procedure contemplated under Section 153C is required to be follow....
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....n, Hon'ble Supreme Court has propounded as under : "11. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the impugned common judgment and order passed by the High Court is held to be unsustainable and the question, i.e.., "Whether the amendment brought to section 153C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 vide Finance Act, 2015 would be applicable to searches conducted under section 132 of the Act, 1961 before 1 6-2015, i.e., the date of amendment?", is answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee's and is answered accordingly. Therefore, it is observed and held that the amendment brought to section 153C of the Act, 1961 vide Finance Act, 2015 shall be applicable to searches conducted under section 132 of the Act, 1961 befor....
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....ssee. In such situation, to our mind, the AO ought to have initiated the proceedings under Section 153C. In other words, AO of the searched person i.e. AO of Shri Sanjay Bansal or of the Trust should have recorded satisfaction that information contained in this loose paper pertains to the assessee and action against the assessee deserves to be taken under Section 153C because income has escaped assessment in the hands of the assessee. Such satisfaction ought to have been transmitted to the AO of the assessee and only thereafter, assessment could have been made. No action under Section 147/148 could be taken against the assessee because Section 153C starts with a non obstante clause namely, notwithstanding anything contained in Section 139/1....