Satinder Pal Singh V. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax Central Circle - 27, Delhi

W.P.(C)/557/2024

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The case involves multiple writ petitions filed by Satinder Pal Singh against notices issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle - 27, Delhi, under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for different assessment years ranging from 2010-11 to 2013-14. The primary legal issue was whether the notices were issued within the permissible time frame. The court examined the applicability of the ten-year limitation period for issuing such notices, referencing the judgment in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-1 vs. Ojjus Medicare Pvt. Ltd, which addressed the computation of time blocks for assessments following a search and seizure operation.

• Counselvise Citation: [2024] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 797788 (HC-DELHI)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 06-05-2024
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-1 vs. Ojjus Medicare Pvt. Ltd [2024 SCC OnLine Del 2439]
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: SHLOK CHANDRA; MADHAVI SHUKLA; PRIYA SARKAR; SUDARSHAN ROY
• Assessee Lawyers: SOMIL AGARWAL; DUSHYANT AGRAWAL; PRATEEK BHATI
• Keywords: Assessment Year; Books of Accounts; Income Tax; Legal fiction; Section 153C
• Section: 153C

Judgement Text

"$~43, 44, 50 & 51 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 557/2024 & CM APPL. 2507/2024 (Stay) SATINDER PAL SINGH ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Somil Agarwal, Mr. Dushyant Agrawal & Mr. Prateek Bhati, Advs. versus ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTRAL CIRCLE - 27, DELHI & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Shlok Chandra, SSC with Mrs. Madhavi Shukla, Ms. Priya Sarkar, JSCs & Mr. Sudarshan Roy, Adv. 44 + W.P.(C) 558/2024 & CM APPL. 2509/2024 (Stay) SATINDER PAL SINGH ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Somil Agarwal, Mr. Dushyant Agrawal & Mr. Prateek Bhati, Advs. versus ASSIST ANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTRAL CIRCLE - 27, DELHI & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Shlok Chandra, SSC with Mrs. Madhavi Shukla, Ms. Priya Sarkar, JSCs & Mr. Sudarshan Roy, Adv. 50 + W.P.(C) 564/2024 & CM APPL. 2532/2024 (Stay) SATINDER PAL SINGH ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Somil Agarwal, Mr. Dushyant Agrawal & Mr. Prateek Bhati, Advs. versus This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/05/2024 at 11:29:28 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTRAL CIRCLE - 27, DELHI & ANR ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Shlok Chandra, SSC with Mrs. Madhavi Shukla, Ms. Priya Sarkar, JSCs & Mr. Sudarshan Roy, Adv. 51 + W.P.(C) 565/2024 & CM APPL. 2534/2024 (Stay) SATINDER PAL SINGH ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Somil Agarwal, Mr. Dushyant Agrawal & Mr. Prateek Bhati, Advs. versus ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTRAL CIRCLE 27 ..... Respondent Through: Mr. Shlok Chandra, SSC with Mrs. Madhavi Shukla, Ms. Priya Sarkar, JSCs & Mr. Sudarshan Roy, Adv. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE YASHWANT VARMA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV % 06.05.2024 O R D E R 1. These writ petitions have been preferred against the notices dated 15 November 2022 issued under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [“Act”] for Assessment Year [“AY’] 2012-13 [W.P.(C) 557/2024], AY 2011-12 [W.P.(C) 558/2024], AY 2013-14 [W.P.(C) 564/2024] and AY 2010-11 [W.P.(C) 565/2024] and all consequential proceedings. 2. Bearing in mind the undisputed fact that notices under Section 153C were dated 15 November 2022, it is ex facie evident that the This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/05/2024 at 11:29:28 aforenoted AYs’ would fall beyond the maximum window of ten years as prescribed. 3. The issue in any case stands answered and covered in favour of the writ petitioner in light of the judgment rendered in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-1 vs. Ojjus Medicare Pvt. Ltd [2024 SCC OnLine Del 2439]. The relevant paragraphs of the aforesaid decision read as under:- “D. The First Proviso to Section 153C introduces a legal fiction on the basis of which the commencement date for computation of the six year or the ten year block is deemed to be the date of receipt of books of accounts by the jurisdictional AO. The identification of the starting block for the purposes of computation of the six and the ten year period is governed by the First Proviso to Section 153C, which significantly shifts the reference point spoken of in Section 153A(1), while defining the point from which the period of the “relevant assessment year” is to be calculated, to the date of receipt of the books of accounts, documents or assets seized by the jurisdictional AO of the non-searched person. The shift of the relevant date in the case of a non-searched person being regulated by the First Proviso of Section 153C(1) is an issue which is no longer res integra and stands authoritatively settled by virtue of the decisions of this Court in SSP Aviation and RRJ Securities as well as the decision of the Supreme Court in Jasjit Singh. The aforesaid legal position also stood reiterated by the Supreme Court in Vikram Sujitkumar Bhatia. The submission of the respondents, therefore, that the block periods would have to be reckoned with reference to the date of search can neither be countenanced nor accepted. E. The reckoning of the six AYs’ would require one to firstly identify the FY in which the search was undertaken and which would lead to the ascertainment of the AY relevant to the previous year of search. The block of six AYs’ would consequently be those which immediately precede the AY relevant to the year of search. In the case of a search assessment undertaken in terms of Section 153C, the solitary distinction would be that the previous year of search would stand substituted by the date or the year in which the books of accounts or documents and assets seized are handed over to the jurisdictional AO as opposed to the year of search which constitutes the basis for an assessment under Section 153A. F. While the identification and computation of the six AYs’ hinges upon the phrase “immediately preceding the assessment year relevant to the previous year” of search, the ten year period would This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/05/2024 at 11:29:28 have to be reckoned from the 31st day of March of the AY relevant to the year of search. This, since undisputedly, Explanation 1 of Section 153A requires us to reckon it “from the end of the assessment year”. This distinction would have to necessarily be acknowledged in light of the statute having consciously adopted the phraseology “immediately preceding” when it be in relation to the six year period and employing the expression “from the end of the assessment year” while speaking of the ten year block 4. Accordingly, and for reasons assigned in our decision in Ojjus Medicare, we allow the instant writ petitions and quash the impugned notices dated 15 November 2022 issued under Section 153C of the Act and all consequential proceedings arising therefrom. .” YASHWANT VARMA, J. PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J. MAY 06, 2024/kk This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/05/2024 at 11:29:28 "