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2019 (8) TMI 852 - HC - Income TaxAssessment u/s 153C - scope of amendment with effect from 1st June, 2015 in Section 153C (1) - HELD THAT:- It can straightaway be noticed that the crucial change is the substitution of the words ‘books of account or documents, seized or requisitioned belongs to or belong to a person other than the person referred to in Section 153A’ by two clauses i.e. a and b, where clause b is in the alternative and provides that ‘such books of account or documents, seized or requisitioned’ could ‘pertain’ to or contain information that ‘relates to’ a person other than a person referred to in Section 153A. The trigger for the above change was a series of decisions u/s 153C, as it stood prior to the amendment, which categorically held that unless the documents or material seized ‘belonged’ to the Assessee, the assumption of jurisdiction u/s 153C qua such Assessee would be impermissible. The legal position in this regard was explained in Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. v. ACIT [2014 (8) TMI 425 - DELHI HIGH COURT] Notice to the Assessee was issued u/s 153C on 19th November 2010. This was long prior to 1st June, 2015 and, therefore, Section 153C as it stood at the relevant time applied. The change brought about prospectively with effect from 1st June, 2015 by the amended Section 153C (1) did not apply to the search in the instant case. Therefore, the onus was on the Revenue to show that the incriminating material/documents recovered at the time of search ‘belongs’ to the Assessee. It is not enough for the Revenue to show that the documents either ‘pertain’ to the Assessee or contains information that ‘relates to’ the Assessee. Unexplained cash credit u/s 68 - relevance of document seized in search of other persons for the purposes of determining escapement of income - can statement given in search be documents belong to other assessee to confer jurisdiction u/s 153C? - HELD THAT: - In the present case, the Revenue is seeking to rely on three documents to justify the assumption of jurisdiction u/s 153 C against the Assessee. Two of them, viz., the licence issued to the Assessee by the DTCP and the letter issued by the DTCP permitting it to transfer such licence, have no relevance for the purposes of determining escapement of income of the Assessee for the AYs in question. Consequently, even if those two documents can be said to ‘belong’ to the Assessee they are not documents on the basis of which jurisdiction can be assumed by the AO u/s 153C. As far as the third document, being Annexure A to the statement of Mr. D. N. Taneja, is concerned that was not a document that ‘belonged’ to the Assessee. Admittedly, this was a statement made by Mr. Taneja during the course of the search and survey proceedings. While it contained information that ‘related’ to the Assessee, by no stretch of imagination could it be said to a document that ‘belonged’ to the Assessee. Therefore, the jurisdictional requirement of Section 153C as it stood at the relevant time, was not met in the present case. This Court concludes that the ITAT committed no legal error in holding that the AO had wrongly assumed jurisdiction u/s 153C qua the Assessee.
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