Smt. Kusum Mittal Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi)
The appeal filed by the Assessee against the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)-3, Gurgaon, dated 25/03/2022, for the Assessment Year 2017-18 was considered by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Delhi.
The grounds of the assessee included challenges to the validity of the assessment proceedings under section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the addition made to the declared income. The contention primarily focused on the absence of a proper search warrant or panchnama in the name of the assessee.
The ITAT examined the legal aspects of the search operation and referred to Section 292CC of the Act, which was inserted retrospectively from 1st April 1976 by the Finance Act, 2012. This section clarifies that it’s unnecessary to issue a separate authorization under section 132 in the name of each person, and assessments can be made separately for each person mentioned in the authorization.
The tribunal referred to relevant judicial precedents, including the Full Bench Judgment of the Allahabad High Court and a case before the Orissa High Court, to support its decision. It concluded that a search warrant is issued regarding premises and not necessarily regarding an assessee, and a common search warrant and panchnama issued against multiple assesses operating from the same premises are justifiable.
