DCIT Vs Suraj Limited (ITAT Ahmedabad)
ITAT Ahmedabad held that AO had no jurisdiction to initiate proceedings u/s. 153C of the Income Tax Act beyond permissible period of six years from date of receipt of books/ documents by AO.
Facts- A search u/s. 132 of the Act was carried out in Suraj Group of cases on 18.12.2013. Certain incriminating documents belonging to the assessee was found during the course of search proceeding. Therefore, the AO initiated proceeding u/s. 153C of the Act against the assessee. The assessment was completed u/s. 143(3) r.w.s. 153C of the Act on 29.03.2016 at total income of Rs.11.06 Crores.
CIT(A) had deleted the addition of Rs. 11 Crore in respect of share application money by holding that addition was not based on any incriminating material found during the search. Being aggrieved, revenue has preferred the present appeal.
Conclusion- There is no ambiguity that for the proceedings under Section 153C of the Act, the year of search shall be substituted by the year of receipt of books or documents by the AO of the other person and thereafter the period of six years has to be counted backwards from that year. In the instant case, seized documents were deemed to be transferred to the common AO on the date of recording of satisfaction by the common AO in F.Y. 2015-16 relevant to A.Y. 2016-17. Therefore, the proceeding u/s 153C could have been validly initiated in the case of the assessee for the six years preceding the A.Y. 2016-17 i.e. for the A.Y.2015-16 to A.Y.2010-11 only.
