TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 1204
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....al Civil Application No.16615 of 2025 is taken up as the lead matter. In the instant writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for quashing and setting aside the notice dated 31.03.2025 issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act") by the respondent - Department seeking to reopen the income-tax assessment of the petitioner for the Assessment Year 2015-16. 3 The brief facts giving rise to the filing of the writ petition are as under: 3.1 The petitioner was engaged in the business of job work of diamonds during the year under consideration. The petitioner filed the return of income for the year under consideration on 31.03.2016 declaring total income of Rs. 19,85,220/-. 3.2 The respondent issued a notice dated 31.03.2025 under Section 148 of the Act for the year under consideration stating therein that a search was initiated under Section 132 of the Act on 09.05.2024 in the case of the person in respect of whom the petitioner is assessable under the Act. Further, it was stated that the respondent is satisfied, with the approval of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, that the books of account or documents seized or requisitioned under Secti....
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....nt year relevant to the previous year in which search is carried out or requisition is made, which falls beyond six assessment years but not later than ten assessment years from the "end of the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted". 4.3 Reference is also made to the provisions of Section 149 of the Act, more particularly the proviso to Section 149 read with Explanation-1 to Section 153A of the Act, and it is submitted that so far as the limitation is concerned, for reopening of the assessment, the same is pari materia to Section 153C of the Act. 5. It is submitted that in the instant case, the search action was carried out in the case of the third party on 09.05.2024, i.e. during the Financial Year 2024-25, and hence the relevant assessment year to the previous year in which the search was undertaken under Section 132 of the Act is Assessment Year 2025-26. It is further submitted that the notice under Section 148 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2015-16 would be time-barred, as the period of ten years would end at Assessment Year 2016-17, since the Assessment Year 2025-26 will become the first assessment year as per the provisions of Se....
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....rs the Assessing Officer to reopen the proceedings pursuant to the search under Section 132 or requisition made under Section 132A or a survey conducted under Section 133A of the Act, if such action is taken on or after the first day of April 2021 but before the first day of September 2024. It is submitted that in the present case, admittedly, the search was conducted on 09.05.2024, which falls between these dates, and hence the provisions of Section 149(b) of the Act get attracted. In this regard, reliance is also placed on the Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Bhavin Kishorebhai Zinzuwadia vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Central Circle-2(3), [2024] 169 taxmann.com 505 (Gujarat). 6.3 It is submitted that as per clause (b) to sub-section (1) of Section 149 of the Act, the period of ten years, in a case where the escaped income is more than Rs. 50 lakhs, would begin after ten years have lapsed from the end of the relevant assessment year. It is contended that in the instant case, it was noticed from the incriminating material that the income had escaped assessment for the year 2015-16, and if the ten years are counted after excluding the Assessment Ye....
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....h Court, and it is urged that the action of the respondent may be upheld for reopening the Assessment Year 2015-16. ANALYSIS AND OPINION : 7. We have heard the learned advocates at length. We have also perused the case laws cited above and have considered the provisions threadbare. 8. The facts which are established from the pleadings are that a search action under Section 153A of the Act against the searched person was undertaken on 09.05.2024, which indubitably falls in the Financial Year 2024-25. The revenue found some incriminating material against the present petitioner and accordingly issued the impugned notices for reopening the assessment for the year 2015-16. The notice has been issued under Section 148 of the Act. With reference to the date of search, it is necessary to refer to the provisions of Section 152(3) of the Act, which read as under: "Section 152(3) "Where a search has been initiated under section 132 or requisition is made under section 132A or a survey is conducted under section 133A [other than under sub-section (2A)] on or after the 1st day of April, 2021 but before the 1st day of September, 2024, the provisions of section 147 to 1....
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....viso. The link between Section 149 and Sections 153A and 153C of the Act is found in the first proviso to Section 149(1) of the Act. The expression "relevant assessment year" is explained under Explanation 1 to the fourth proviso to Section 153A(1). The first proviso to Section 149(1) of the Act bars the issuance of notice under Section 148 of the Act for the relevant assessment year beginning on or before 01st April, 2021, if a notice under Section 148 or Section 153A or Section 153C of the Act could not have been issued at that time on account of it being beyond the time limit specified under the provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 149 of the Act or Section 153A or Section 153C of the Act. In the present case, the notice under Section 148 of the Act emanates from the search proceedings undertaken under Sections 132 / 132A of the Act, and hence the provisions of Sections 153A and 153C of the Act would get attracted, and the reassessment of the petitioner has to be examined by keeping in mind the limitation provided under Section 153C of the Act, which is pari materia to Section 153A of the Act. At this stage, we may refer to the provisions of Section 153A(1)(....
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.... or is likely to amount to fifty lakh rupees or more in the relevant assessment year or in aggregate in the relevant assessment years, (b) the income referred to in clause (a) or part thereof has escaped assessment for such year or years, and (c) the search under section 132 is initiated or requisition under section 132A is made on or after the 1st day of April, 2017 Explanation 1 For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "relevant assessment year shall mean an assessment year preceding the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted or requisition is made which falls beyond six assessment years but not later than ten assessment years from the end of the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted or requisition is made." 7.2 The provisions of Sections 153A / 153C of the Act find place in the proviso to Section 149 of the Act and, hence, the limitation as provided in Sections 153A / 153C of the Act gets triggered upon the initiation of assessment proceedings emanating from a search under Sections 132 / 132A of the Act. We may, at this stage, mention that the Delhi High Court as we....
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....with the said date indubitably constituting the end of the AY relevant to the previous year of search. Viewed in light of the above, the block period of 10 AYs would be as follows.- Computation of the six-year block period as provided under section 153C read with Section 153A 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 AY 2016-17 7 AY 2015-14 8 AY 2014-15 9 AY 2013-14 10 91 Tested on the aforesaid precepts, it would be manifest that AY 2022-23 would form the first year of the block 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 ....
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....rain structure can be changed. But not so when it comes to a provision in a taxing statute that is free of ambiguity Such a provision cannot be elastically construed. 11. One other contention urged by the standing counsel has to be dealt with. It is pointed out that the petitioner has invoked the writ jurisdiction at the notice stage Since the petitioner has demonstrated that the subject assessment year lies beyond the ambit of the provision, the respondent has no jurisdiction to issue the impugned notice Once lack of jurisdiction has 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." 7.3 Thus, it is precisely held hereinabove that the statute prescribes different modes of computation for six years and ten years. We reiterate that the provisions of Section 153A(1) (b) of the Act stipulate that the Assessing Officer shall assess or reassess the total income of six years immediately preceding the assessment year relevant t....