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TMI Blog2022 (9) TMI 892X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re was no transaction of any sale or purchase of shares in the assessment year under consideration. He states that the petitioner has no concern with the transactions set out in Notice dated 1st June, 2022, as the same were undertaken by petitioner's shareholders and the assessee has no concern with these transactions. 3. He also submits that as per the first proviso to Section 149 of the Act (as amended by Finance Act, 2021), no notice for re-assessment can be issued for assessment year 2013-14, as the time limit for initiating the proceedings expired on 30th March, 2020, as per the provisions of Section 149 (as it stood prior to its amendment by Finance Act, 2021). He, therefore, contends that the present proceedings initiated by the respondent in pursuance of the initial notice dated 29th June, 2021, and judgment of the Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Ashish Agarwal reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 543 are time barred. 4. Learned Senior Standing Counsel for the Revenue, Mr. Puneet Rai submits that Section 3 of Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 ('TOLA') applies to the unamended provisions of Section 149 of the Act (as it st ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d in fact survey was also conducted at the premises of the assessee. The said survey as per the AO resulted in impounding of incriminating documents which disclosed that the BDR Group of companies are engaged in unaccounted cash transactions and one of the modus used by the said companies is to provide bogus share capital and bogus share premium to other companies. The AO has summarised the findings against the assessee at paragraph 6.2 of the impugned Order, which read as under: "6.2 Following are the relevant findings with respect to the assessee M/s Touchstone Holding Pvt. Ltd. (PAN: AAACT1004E): * This company is a group company of BDR group. This company itself appears in the list of SK Jain related entities. The financial profile of M/s Touchstone Holdings P Ltd does not show any significant business activity. It must be noticed that shares of the company were acquired by the persons belonging to the target group (i.e. BDR Group) in FY 2014-15. * The changes in shareholding pattern can be seen in detail from the Investigation Report in this case. * It can be seen that how shareholding was acquired by the BDR group. The purpose for the BDR group to acquire the shares o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... zed in light of the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961." (Emphasis supplied) It has been concluded by the AO that the transfer of shares held by the petitioner-assessee has been carried out at a value which is inconsistent with Section 56 of the IT Act and the said transactions require examination. 9. Upon a perusal of the impugned Order read along with the letter of investigation wing placed on record, this Court prima facie does not find any merit in the submissions of the counsel for the petitioner that the assessee has no concern with the transactions. The contention of Revenue that M/s BDR Builders & Developers Pvt. Ltd. uses layered transactions for providing accommodation entries and the assessee and its shareholders are part of beneficiaries of the said transactions and the petitioner's denial of the same cannot be examined in writ proceedings. The facts are seriously disputed by both the parties. 10. With respect to the petitioner's challenge to the initiation of the reassessment proceedings on the merits of the allegation, it would be relevant to refer to the judgment in the case of Raymond Woollen Mills Ltd. vs. ITO And Ors., [1999 236 ITR 34 SC] wherein the Supr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... elapsed from theend of the relevant assessment year unless the income chargeable to tax which has escaped assessment amounts to or is likely to amount to one lakh rupees or more for that year; ..." The time limit for issuing notice under unamended Section 149 which was falling from 20th March 2020 till 31st March 2021 was extended by Section 3 of TOLA read with Notification No. 20/2021 dated 31st March, 2021, and Notification No. 38/2021 dated 27th April, 2021, until 30th June, 2021. 14. The initial notice in the present proceedings was issued on 29th June, 2021 i.e. extended time limit. The said notice was quashed by this Court following its judgment in Mon Mohan Kohli Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax and Another, reported in 2021 SCC OnLine Del 5250 as the mandatory procedure of Section 148A of the Act was not followed before issuing the said notice. In the said judgment, this Court struck down the Explanations A(a)(ii) and A(b) to the said notifications. However, the relevant portion of the notification which extended the time limit for issuance of time barring reassessment notices until 30th June, 2021 was not struck down by this Court and in fact, this Court catego ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h June, 2021, which has been issued within the extended period of limitation is not time barred. 16. The petitioner's challenge to the paragraph 6.2. (i) of the CBDT Instruction No. 1/2022 dated 11th May, 2022 is not maintainable. The contention of the petitioner that assessment for AY 2013-14 became time barred on 31st March, 2020 is incorrect. The time period for assessment stood extended till 30th June, 2021. The initial reassessment notice for AY 2013-14 has been issued to the petitioner within the said extended period of limitation. The Supreme Court has declared that the said reassessment notice be deemed as a notice issued under Section 148A of the Act and permitted Revenue to complete the said proceedings. In this case, the income alleged to have escaped assessment is more than 50 lakhs and therefore, the rigour of Section 149(1)(b) of the Act (as amended by the Finance Act, 2021) has been satisfied. 17. Accordingly, the present writ petition along with the pending application is dismissed. However, this Court clarifies that the Assessing Officer shall decide the matter on its own merits without being influenced by any observation made in the present order except the issu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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