Amendment of section 153B.
65. In section 153B of the Income-tax Act,—
(I) in sub-section (1) with effect from the 1st day of July, 2012,—
(i) in the second proviso, for the words, figures and letters “on the 1st day of April, 2004 or any subsequent financial year”, the words, figures and letters “on or after the 1st day of April, 2004 but before the 1st day of April, 2010” shall be substituted;
(ii) in the third proviso for the words, figures and letters “on the 1st day of April, 2005 or any subsequent financial year”, the words, figures and letters “on or after the 1st day of April, 2005 but before the 1st day of April, 2009” shall be substituted;
(iii) after the third proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:—
‘Provided also that in case where the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132A was executed during the financial year commencing on the 1st day of April, 2009 or any subsequent financial year and during the course of the proceedings for the assessment or reassessment of total income, a reference under sub-section (1) of section 92CA—
(i) was made before the 1st day of July, 2012, but an order under sub-section (3) of section 92CA has not been made before such date; or
(ii) is made on or after the 1st day of July, 2012, the provisions of clause (a) or clause (b) of this sub-section, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (i) of the second proviso, have effect as if for the words “two years”, the words “three years” had been substituted.’.
(iv) in the fourth proviso for the words, figures and letters “on the 1st day of April, 2005 or any subsequent financial year”, the words, figures and letters “on or after the 1st day of April, 2005 but before the 1st day of April, 2009” shall be substituted;
(v) after the fourth proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:—
“Provided also that in case where the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132A was executed during the financial year commencing on the 1st day of April, 2009 or any subsequent financial year and during the course of proceedings for the assessment or reassessment of total income in case of other person referred to in section 153C, a reference under sub-section (1) of section 92CA—
(i) was made before the 1st day of July, 2012 but an order under sub-section (3) of section 92CA has not been made before such date; or
(ii) is made on or after the 1st day of July, 2012, the period of limitation for making the assessment or reassessment in case of such other person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (ii) of the second proviso, be the period of thirty-six months from the end of the financial year in which the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132A was executed or twenty-four months from the end of the financial year in which books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned are handed over under section 153C to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person, whichever is later.”;
(II) in the Explanation,—
(a) in clause (viii), for the words “six months”, the words “one year” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of July, 2012;
(b) after clause (viii) and before the words “shall be excluded”, the following clause shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013, namely:—
“(ix) the period commencing from the date on which a reference for declaration of an arrangement to be impermissible avoidance arrangement is received by the Commissioner under sub-section (1) of section 144BA and ending on the date on which a direction under sub-section (3) or sub-section (6) or an order under sub-section (5) of the said section is received by the Assessing Officer,”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 65 of the Bill seeks to amend section 153B of the Income-tax Act relating to time limit for completion of assessment under section 153A.
The existing provisions of sub-section (1) of section 153B provide for time limit for completion of assessment and reassessment by the Assessing Officer. It is proposed to amend the aforesaid sub-section so as to revise the time limits specified in the aforesaid section for completion of assessments or reassessment in case of search or requisition.
The revised time limits shall be the time limits wherever specified under the aforesaid section, as respectively increased by three months.
The existing provisions contained in the Explanation to the aforesaid section 153B provide that certain periods specified therein are to be excluded while computing the period of limitation laid down in sub-section (1) of the said section for completion of assessments under section 153A.
It is proposed to amend clause (viii) of the aforesaid Explanation so as to extend the period specified therein from six months to one year.
These amendments will take effect from 1st July, 2012.
It is proposed to insert a new clause (ix) in the Explanation of the aforesaid section so as to provide for exclusion of time period starting from receipt of reference by the Commissioner under sub-section (1) of newly inserted section 144BA and ending on date on which a direction under sub-section (3) or sub-section (6) or an order under sub-section (5) of newly inserted section 144BA is received by the Assessing Officer.
This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2013 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2013-2014 and subsequent assessment years.
