TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (11) TMI 821
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....the order had been passed in derogation of the principles of natural justice. The said writ petition was disposed of by setting aside the assessment order dated February 01, 2024 and remanding the matter to the assessing officer with a direction to pass a fresh assessment order after giving an opportunity of personal hearing through video conferencing. 3. Pursuant to the said order dated March 22, 2024 passed by this Court, the assessing officer has passed a fresh assessment order dated June 10, 2024 under Section 147 read with Sections 260 and 144B of the said Act of 1961 upon affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner as directed by this Court. It is this order that has been challenged in the present writ petition. 4. The....
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....h and survey operation having been conducted at various spots of finance brokers, the assessment proceeding should have been initiated under section 153C of the said Act of 1961. This Court is unable to agree with the writ petitioner for the reasons stated hereinbelow: Section 153 of the said Act of 1961 provides as follows: "153C. (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 requisitioned, pertains or pertain to, or any info....
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....n 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 153A 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 to the previous year in whi....
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....ined therein relates to a person other than the searched person referred to in Section 153A of the Act. 7. As to how the Assessing Officers of the two persons (i.e. the searched person and the person other than the searched person), are required to act under law has been succinctly summed up by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in the case of CIT v. Naveen Kumar Gupta reported at (2025) 479 ITR 586 : 2024 SCC OnLine Del 8140 : (2025) 342 CTR 263. Paragraph 41 of the said judgment is extracted hereinbelow: "41. As noted above, the jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer to reassess the income under section 153C of the Act is predicated on (a) the Assessing Officer of the searched person being satisfied that the assets and ma....
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....nder Section 147 and not under Section 153A or 153C of the said Act of 1961. Reference in this case may be made to the recent judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT v. Abhisar Buildwell (P) Ltd., (2024) 2 SCC 433. In paragraph 33 of the report the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed thus "33. As per the provisions of Section 153-A, in case of a search under Section 132 or requisition under Section 132-A, the AO gets the jurisdiction to assess or reassess the "total income" in respect of each assessment year falling within six assessment years. However, it is required to be noted that as per the second proviso to Section 153-A, the assessment or reassessment, if any, relating to any assessment year falling within the pe....
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....the "total income" taking into consideration the incriminating material collected during the search and other material which would include income declared in the returns, if any, furnished by the assessee as well as the undisclosed income. However, in case during the search no incriminating material is found, in case of completed/unabated assessment, the only remedy available to the Revenue would be to initiate the reassessment proceedings under Sections 147/48 of the Act, subject to fulfilment of the conditions mentioned in Sections 147/148, as in such a situation, the Revenue cannot be left with no remedy. Therefore, even in case of block assessment under Section 153-A and in case of unabated/completed assessment and in case no i....