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2018 (10) TMI 806 - HC - Income TaxAssessment u/s 153A r.w.s. 254 - period of limitation u/s 153 - Starting point of limitation with respect to any proceedings which are to be initiated by the revenue or any steps to be taken by it - Held that:- It is quite evident from the decision in Odeon Builders [2017 (3) TMI 1266 - DELHI HIGH COURT] that limitation begins (for any purpose under the Act) from the point of time when the departmental representative receives the copy of a decision or an order of the ITAT. The evidence on record in this case clearly establishes that the concerned DR (a Commissioner ranking officer) nominated by the revenue received a copy of the ITAT order dated 30.03.2016. The Starting point of limitation therefore was 31.03.2016. Whether the non-obstante clause under Section 153 which prescribes a specific period of limitation to complete a search assessment for the block period? - Held that:- The general provision of two years, in the opinion of the Court, has been provided with one important objective i.e. to cater to a specific situation where upon search and seizure operation, if new material is found, already completed assessments are revisited. Had Parliament not prescribed such a specific period of limitation, possibly, the assessee’s concern would have successfully urged that search and seizure proceedings would be confined only to the concerned year in which the search operation took place. It was proposed to tide over such situation. The only provision that prescribed a period of limitation in respect of remands at the relevant time at least in this case is Section 153(2A). In that sense, that period of limitation prescribed for completion of remand (nine months) constituted a special provision, which applies to every class of remand regardless whether they originate from assessments/re- assessments/revisions or search and seizure assessments. In these circumstances, completion of the assessment proceedings for the block period by the impugned order dated 22.12.2017 was clearly beyond the period of limitation. As noticed earlier, the last date by which the remand order could have been worked out validly was 31.12.2016. The petitions have to succeed. The impugned order pursuant to the remand dated 22.12.2017 and all consequential orders and actions are hereby quashed.
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