NAND KISHORE GARG vs. ASSISSTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTAL CIRCLE-32 DELHI & ANR.

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W.P.(C)/4156/2024HC DelhiDLHC01014521202419 March 2025Bench: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU,HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA3 pages
AI SummaryAllowed

What did the High Court hold?

The Delhi High Court allowed the petition, setting aside the impugned notice dated 30.09.2022 and all proceedings initiated pursuant thereto. The Court held that the issue of limitation was covered by its previous decision in The Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax - Central-1 v. Ojjus Medicare Pvt. Ltd. The Court reiterated that the 10-year period for reopening assessments under Section 153C read with Section 153A of the Act must be reckoned from the end of the assessment year relevant to the financial year in which the notice for reopening is issued. In this case, the satisfaction note was recorded on 24.06.2022, meaning the 10-year period should be reckoned from AY 2022-23. Consequently, AY 2013-14 was found to be time-barred. The Court accepted the tabular statement provided by the petitioner, which clearly showed AY 2013-14 as time-barred within the relevant period.

What were the facts?

The petitioner, Nand Kishore Garg, filed a writ petition challenging a notice dated 30.09.2022 issued under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14. The notice was based on search and seizure operations conducted on the Alankit Group on 18.10.2019, where incriminating documents pertaining to the petitioner were allegedly found. A satisfaction note was prepared by the Assessing Officer of the searched entity on 24.06.2022, leading to the issuance of the impugned notice. The petitioner contended that the notice was barred by limitation as AY 2013-14 was beyond the 10-year period for reopening assessments.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the notice dated 30.09.2022 issued under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for AY 2013-14 is barred by limitation, considering the period of 10 years for reopening assessments. Assessee's Contention: The petitioner argued that the notice is barred by limitation as AY 2013-14 falls outside the permissible 10-year period for reopening assessments. The petitioner relied on the principle that the 10-year period should be reckoned from the end of the assessment year relevant to the financial year in which the notice for reopening is issued. Revenue's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific contentions from the revenue regarding the limitation period. However, the revenue was represented by counsel.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 153C,Section 132,Section 153A

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

$~93 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(C) 4156/2024 CM APPL. 16960/2024 NAND KISHORE GARG .....Petitioner Through: Mr Ruchesh Sinha and Ms Monalisha Maity, Advocates. Versus ASSISSTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CENTAL CIRCLE-32 DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr Puneet Rai, SSC, Mr Ashvini Kumar and Mr Rishabh Nangia, SCs and Mr Nikhil Jain, Advocate. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA O R D E R % 19.03.2025 1. The petitioner has filed the present petition, inter alia, impugning a notice dated 30.09.2022 [impugned notice] issued under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 [Act] in respect of the Assessment Year [AY] 2013-14 and the proceedings initiated pursuant thereto. 2. The impugned notice was premised on the search and seizure operations that were conducted under Section 132 of the Act in respect of Alankit Group of cases on 18.10.2019. It is alleged that during the course of the search, certain incriminating documents pertaining to the petitioner were found, which would have a bearing on the tax chargeable on the petitioner’s income. Accordingly, a satisfaction note dated 24.06.2022 was prepared by the Assessing Officer [AO] of the searched entity. Pursuant thereto, the impugned notice was issued. 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 02/07/2025 at 00:12:48

3.

It is the petitioner’s case that the said notice is barred by limitation as the AY 2013-14 is beyond the period of 10 years for which assessments could be reopened. 4. Concededly, the aforesaid issue is covered by the decision of a coordinate Bench of this court in The Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax - Central-1 v. Ojjus Medicare Pvt. Ltd : Neutral Citation : 2024:DHC: 2629-DB. The period of 10 years for which assessments can be reopened under Section 153C of the Act read with Section 153A of the Act is required to be reckoned from the end of the assessment year relevant to the financial year in which the notice for reopening is issued. In the present case, the satisfaction note was recorded on 24.06.2022. Thus, the period of ten years is required to be reckoned from the assessment year relevant to financial year 2022-23. The learned counsel for the petitioner has handed over a tabular statement setting out the ten Assessment Years that will be covered in the present case. The same is reproduced below: S.No. A.Y 1. 2023-24 2. 2022-23 3. 2021-22 4. 2020-21 5. 2019-20 6. 2018-19 7. 2017-18 8. 2016-17 9. 2015-16 10. 2014-15 11. 2013-14 (Time barred) 5. There is no cavil with the aforesaid tabular statement. 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 02/07/2025 at 00:12:48

6.

Accordingly, the present petition is allowed and the impugned notice, as well as all proceedings initiated pursuant thereto, are set aside. 7. The petition is allowed in the aforesaid terms. All the pending applications are also disposed of. VIBHU BAKHRU, J TEJAS KARIA, J MARCH 19, 2025 M Click here to check corrigendum, if any 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 02/07/2025 at 00:12:48

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