CIT Vs Jasjit Singh (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered a batch of appeals concerning the interpretation of Sections 153A and 153C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in cases where documents belonging to a person other than the searched person were found during a search under Section 132. The Revenue challenged Delhi High Court orders that had upheld the ITAT’s view that, for such third-party assessees, the six assessment years for which returns are required under Section 153C are to be reckoned from the date on which the books of account, documents or assets are received by the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the other person, and not from the date of the search. The Revenue argued that the proviso to Section 153C(1) was relevant only for determining abatement under the second proviso to Section 153A. The Supreme Court rejected this contention, holding that the proviso to Section 153C(1) applies not only to abatement but also to the date from which the six-year period is to be computed for the other person. The Court observed that adopting the Revenue’s interpretation could result in prejudice to third-party assessees if the transfer of seized material to the jurisdictional Assessing Officer were delayed. Holding that a plain reading of Section 153C supported the interpretation adopted by the Delhi High Court in SSP Aviation, the Supreme Court found no merit in the Revenue’s appeals and dismissed them without costs.
