Zenith Portfolio and Insurance Advisors Pvt. Ltd Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi)
Section 153C Assessments Beyond Six-Year Block Invalid: ITAT Delhi Quashes Proceedings
The Delhi Bench of the ITAT quashed search assessments framed under section 153C for AYs 2013-14 to 2015-16, holding them to be barred by limitation and without valid jurisdiction. The Tribunal noted that the satisfaction note under section 153C was recorded on 17.12.2021 and, following the Supreme Court ruling in Jasjit Singh, the relevant “search year” for the assessee was AY 2022-23. Consequently, only the immediately preceding six assessment years (AYs 2017-18 to 2022-23) could be covered under section 153C, and the impugned years fell clearly outside this permissible block.
The Tribunal further observed that the Assessing Officer neither invoked nor satisfied the statutory conditions for reopening beyond six years, such as quantification of undisclosed income exceeding ₹50 lakh represented in the form of an asset. Additionally, the satisfaction note was found to be fundamentally defective, being vague, non-specific, and lacking any year-wise or document-wise linkage of seized material to the assessee, contrary to settled law. On these multiple jurisdictional infirmities, the ITAT quashed the assessments in entirety, rendering all other grounds academic.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
