LKS Gold House Private Limited Vs DCIT (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court held that even if AO of both searched person and other person is same, for completing Assessment proceedings and passing the Assessment order has to be calculated from the date on which the documents were handed over or deemed to have been handed over to the AO of the “other person”.
Facts- In the present case, the challenge to the respective Assessment Orders passed by the Assessing Officers are primarily on the ground that the Assessing Officer(s) have failed to consider the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Super Malls (P) Ltd v CIT, (2020) 4 SCC 581. There the Court held that when the Assessing Officer of searched person and third person is same, it is sufficient by Assessing Officer to record in satisfaction note that documents seized from searched person belonged to other person and there is no requirement of transmitting documents so seized from searched person. It is submitted that that initiation of proceedings Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were time barred.
Conclusion- The time limit for completing Assessment proceedings and passing the Assessment order will be one year from the date on which the documents were handed over or deemed to have been handed over to the “Assessing Officer” of the “other person” such as these petitioners, i.e. 03.2024. Therefore, the Writ Petition challenging the Assessment Orders passed under Section 153C read with Section 143(3) of the IT Act, 1961 are liable to be dismissed.
Merely because, the assessing officers are one and the same for both “searched person” and the “other person” ipso facto would not mean that the moment the documents were seized either by the investigating team and handed over to the assessing officer for completing the assessment under section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the limitation for completing the assessment in the case of “other person” would start running under 3rd proviso to section 153B (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
By this common order all these writ petitions are being disposed of.
2. In these writ petitions, the respective petitioners have challenged the respective impugned Assessment Orders passed under Section 153C read with Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Scrutiny Assessment Orders passed under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
3. The details of the respective writ petitioners challenging the Impugned Orders are as under:-
Table 1:-
