Income Tax Appellate Tribunal - Delhi
Dcit, Central Circle -28, New Delhi, New ... vs M/S Okaya Power Private Limited, Delhi on 10 November, 2025
IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
DELHI BENCH 'A', NEW DELHI
Before Sh. Satbeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member
&
Sh. S. Rifaur Rahman, Accountant Member
ITA No. 4186/Del./2025 : Asstt. Year : 2011-12
DCIT, Vs M/s Okaya Power Pvt. Ltd.
Central Circle-28, H-19, Rohtak Road, Udyog Nagar,
New Delhi-110055 West Delhi, New Delhi-110041
(APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT)
PAN No. AADCA7106P
ITA No. 4187/Del./2025 : Asstt. Year : 2011-12
ITA No. 4188/Del./2025 : Asstt. Year : 2012-13
DCIT, Vs Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
Central Circle-28, D-7, Udyog Nagar, Rohtak Road,
New Delhi-110055 Nangloi, West Delhi,
New Delhi-110041
(APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT)
PAN No. AADCM0693B
Assessee by: Sh. S. S. Nagar, CA
Revenue by: Sh. Jitender Singh, CIT-DR
Date of Hearing: 10.11.2025 Date of Pronouncement: 10.11.2025
ORDER
Per Satbeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member:
The instant batch of three Revenue's appeals ITA No s.
4186, 4187 & 4188/Del/2025, arise against the CIT(A)-25, New Delhi's commo n order dated 24.03.2025, in asse ssment years 2011-12 & 2012-13, passed in case Nos. 10109/2010-11, 10110/2010-11 & 10136/2011-12 respectively, in proceedings u/s 153C of the Inco me Tax Act, 1961.
2. Heard both the p arties at length. Case files peruse d.
2 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
3. We no tice at the o utset that the lear ned CIT(A) identical lower appellate discussion has quashed all the impugned three assessments framed by the Assessing Officer u/s 143(3) r.w.s.
153C of the Act dated 25.03.2023 as no t sustainable in law as follows:
"8 . I hav e exami ned the s ubmissions of the a ppella nt , the facts emanati ng fr om recor d as well as t he Co urt judgements i n t he ma tter relied upon by t he a ppellant. The appellant is stated to be a priv ate compa ny enga ged in the busi ness of ma nufac turi ng of inverters , aut omotiv e, e-ricksha ws, UPS and sola r appl icatio ns as well as po wer b ups . It is seen from the ass ess me nt order tha t pursuant to a s earc h a nd s eizur e operation carri ed out on the Ala nkit group [stated t o be a congl omer ate of severa l group co mpa ni es wit h diversified ac tivities], Shri Alok Kumar Agar wal, his s on Shri Ankit Agarwal and c l ose ass ociates on 18.10.2019, certa in incrimi nating evidenc es pertai ni ng to the appellant w ere found and seized , in whos e case proceedi ngs u/s 153C of the Act wer e therefore com menced. In view of the af ores aid, notice u/s 153C of t he Ac t was is sued on 06.04.2022 to the a ppellant a nd a ssessme nt order was subsequently p assed on 25.03.2023 determi ni ng the inc ome of the appel lant for the yea r at Rs. 6 ,78,00,966/. Against t hi s impugned assessment orde r pas s ed u/s 153C of t he Act on 25.03.2023, t he appella nt filed appeal on 21.04.2023 raising 10 (ten) grounds of appeal with vari ous s ub-part s and 2 (two) additio nal grounds of appeal (s upra), i nv oki ng bot h l ega l issues as well as issues on the merits of the additions made and so me general grounds . It would be i n t he fitness of thi ngs to exami ne the l egal issues raised by the appella nt at t he outset as they go to the root of the mat ter.
9. As menti oned above, f rom a per us al of the grounds of appeal and s ubmissions filed by the appella nt, i t is seen t hat t he appella nt ha s di sput ed the merits of the additi ons made i n t he as sessment order a nd al so challenged the or der by rai sing vario us l e gal grounds. In ground no. 3 of appeal and the writt en s ubmis si on/s filed, the appellant has rais ed a le gal ground c ont ending tha t proceedi ngs initia ted u/s 153C of t he Act i n its c ase for the i ns tant a ssessment y ear , i.e. AY 2011-12, a re barr ed by limi tati on, si nc e the i ns ta nt a ss essme nt y ear 3 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
fall s bey ond t he period of 10 yea rs from the date of searc h, i nterpret ed i n t his case a s the dat e of ta ki ng pos session of the seiz ed documents or as se ts by the AO of t he appellant or non-s earched person or date of handing ov er of seized documents by A O of s earc hed pers on t o AO of the appellant/date of iss ue of notic e u/s 153C of the Ac t. Apr opos t he aforesaid ground, t he appella nt ha s s ubmitted t hat i n its cas e, proc eedings u/s 153C of the Ac t for t he AYs 2010-11 to 2020-21 were initiated by the AO on t he basi s of sea rch a nd s eizure ac tion u/s 132(1 ) of the Act conduct ed on 18.10.2019 on the Al ankit group. The a ppellant has submitted tha t proc eedi ngs i nitiated f or the i nst ant as ses sment year, i.e. AY 2011-12 are barr ed by limitation, si nc e the instant ass es sm ent yea r falls beyo nd the perio d of 10 ye ars , and he nce is outside the scope of releva nt as sessment year as defi ned in Explanati on 1 t o s ection 153 A of the Act. In support of the a for esaid submissi ons , the appellant has pla ced r elianc e on t he prov isions of s ec ti on 153C r .w.s . 153A o f t he Act as well as t he following j udi cial pro nouncement:
Pr. C IT-C entral-I v. Ojjus Medicar e Pvt. Ltd. [2024 SCC OnLi ne Del 2439] [Centr al-1 (2024) 161 ta xma nn.c om 160] 9.1 I ha ve consi de red the a for esa id s ubmissi ons made by the a ppellant. In t he i nst a nt c ase, the followi ng issues, sum ma rized bel ow, are se en to aris e by vir tue of this prese nt ground of appeal raised/s ubmis si on made by the appellant:
i) Relating to the da te t o be reckoned a nd met hod for calculati ng ten as sessment yea rs backwards that c an be thr own open f or a ssessme nt/reasses sm ent aft er searc h/handi ng over of s eiz ed mate rial to the A O of t he non-searc hed pers on; and
ii) Relating to t he da te to be rec kone d as the cut-off dat e to deter mi ne the 'year of s ear ch' s o as to as certai n the 'rel evant as sessment years ' in the cas e of the non-
searc hed entity.
9.2 In this regard, it woul d be in t he fitness of thi ngs to exa mi ne t he pr ovis ions of the Act u/s 153A of the Act, reproduc ed a s under, i n respec t of the time limit for issua nce of notice:
'153A.[(1 )] Not withsta ndi ng a nything c ontai ned in sec tion 139, s ec ti on 147, secti on 148, s ec tion 1 49, sec tion 151 and secti on 153, i n the cas e of a pers on1-0- 4 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
where a search is i nitiate d under sectio n 132 or books of ac co unt, other doc uments or a ny assets a re requisiti oned under s ection 132A a fter t he 31st day of May , 2003 -- [but on or before the 31st day of Marc h, 2021], t he Asses si ng Officer shall--
a. issue notice to such person requiring him to furnish within such period, as may be specified in the notice, the return of inco me in respect o f each assessment year falling wi thin six assessment years [and for the relevant assessment year or years] referred to in clause
(b), in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed and the provisions of this Act shall, so far as may be, apply accordingly as if such return were a return required to be furnished under section 139;
b. assess or r ea ssess t he tota l inc ome of six assessment ye ars immedia tely prec edi ng t he assessment year rel eva nt to t he prev ious year i n whic h suc h searc h is c onducted or r equisition is made12 [and for the rele va nt as sessment y ea r or ye ars ].
Pro vided t hat the Assessi ng Officer s hall ass ess or rea ss ess t he tot al i ncome i n res pect of each ass es sment ye ar falling withi n such six assessment years [and for t he rel evant as sessment yea r or yea rs]:
Pro vided further t hat ass essment or r eass es sment, if any , relating to any assessment y ear falli ng withi n t he perio d of s ix ass essment ye ars [and for the r elev a nt as sessment y ear or yea rs] refer red to i n this [sub- sec tion] pendi ng on the da te of initi atio n of the s earc h under sectio n 132 or maki ng of requisition under s ection 132A, as t he c as e may be, shall a ba te :
[Pro vided also tha t the Ce ntral G overnment may by rul es made by it and published i n the Official Gaze tte (e xc ept in c ase s whe re any ass es sment or reass ess ment has aba ted under t he sec ond proviso ] specify t he cla ss or classes of c as es in whic h the Assessing Officer shall not be requir ed t o iss ue notic e for ass essing or reass ess i ng the tota l i ncome for six a ss essme nt years im mediat ely prec edi ng the a ss ess ment ye ar releva nt to t he previ ous ye ar i n which s ear ch is c onduct ed or requisi ti on is made [and for t he releva nt a ssessm ent year or yea rs ]:] 5 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
[Pro vided als o t hat no notic e for ass es sment or rea ss essme nt s hall be issue d by the Ass es si ng Offic er for the relevant ass essment year or yea rs unl es s--
(a) the Assessing Officer has in his pos session books of account or other documents or evidence which reveal that the income, represented i n the form of ass et, w hic h ha s escaped assessment amounts to or is likely to amount to fifty lakh rupees or more in the relevant assessment year or in aggregate in the relevant assessment years.
(b) the i nco me referr ed to i n cla use (a ) or part thereof has escaped assessment for such year or yea rs ; a nd
(c) the s earch under section 132 is i nitiated or requisitio n under sec tio n 132A is ma de on or after the 1st day of April, 2017.
Expla nati on 1. --For the purpos es of t hi s s ub-sec ti on, t he expr es sion "r el evant a ssessment year " s hall mea n a n as sessment yea r prec edi ng t he asse ssment year rel eva nt to the previous y ear i n which s earch is c onducted or requisitio n is made whic h falls beyond si x ass es sment ye ars but not later tha n te n asses sment year s fr om t he end of the assess ment yea r r elevant to t he pr evious ye ar in whic h s earc h is c oncluded or requis ition is made.
Expla nati on 2. - F or the purp oses of the fourth pro viso, "asset" s hal l incl ude immovabl e pr operty bei ng la nd or bui lding or bot h, s hares a nd securities; loans a nd adv ances , depos its in bank account.] 10.3 The pr ovisions of the section are further explained stati ng t hat the AO shall assess or reas sess the total inc ome of six asses sment years i mmediately prec eding the as ses sment y ea r releva nt to the previ ous y ear i n whic h s uch s earch is conduc ted 'and the rel eva nt as sessment y ear. ' The provisions o f the a bove s ecti on are to b e read i n ta ndem wi th sec tio n 153C of t he Ac t i n res pect of ass ess ment i n the case of a non-s earc hed pers on.
11. Before movi ng on t o the rec ent judgement of t he Ho n'bl e D el hi Hi gh C ourt deliver ed i n the case of Ojjus Medicare on the subject-ma tter at ha nd, it woul d be perti nent t o refer to the pos iti on of law a s laid down by the earlier decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Cour t i n t he 6 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
case of CIT v. Jas jit Singh [2023] 458 ITR 437 (S C ) a nd the Ho n'ble D el hi High C ourt i n the c ase of CIT v. RRJ Sec urities Ltd [2016] 380 ITR 612 (Del hi ) with regard to the date of recko ni ng for calc ula ting the ass es sment ye ars for reop ening i n the cas e of a non-se arc hed pers on/t hird party, wherei n it was observed tha t as aga inst t he date o f s earc h, the date o n which the AO of the person other tha n the one s earc hed ass umes t he pos session of the s eized ass ets would be t he r eleva nt dat e for applyi ng the provisions of Secti on 153A of t he Act. The relevant extracts of the decisions of the H on' ble Supreme C ourt a nd the Ho n'ble jurisdictiona l Hi gh Court are reproduc ed below:
In Jasjit Si ngh (s upr a), the Hon'bl e Supreme Co urt obs erv ed a s under:
'9. It is evident on a pla in i nterpr etati on of S ecti on 15 3C(1 ) that the Parliamentar y i ntent to enac t the prov iso was t o c ater not me rely to t he q ue stion of a batem ent but als o with regard to the date from whic h t he six year perio d was t o be r eckoned, in respect of whic h the ret urns wer e t o be filed by the third party (whos e premises a re not sea rched a nd i n respe ct of whom the specific pr ovision unde r Section 153-C was enac ted). The revenue argued t hat t he proviso (t o S ec tion 153(c)(1)] is confined in its a pplica tion to the ques tion of a batem ent.
10. This Court is of the opinio n tha t the rev enue's argument is i nsubs ta ntial and wit hout merit. I t i s quite plausible tha t without t he ki nd of int erpretation whic h SSP Aviati on ad opted, the A.O. seized of the materi als -
of the sea rch party, under Se ction 132 would ta ke his own tim e to forward the papers and mate rials belongi ng to the thi rd par ty, to the conc erned A.O. In t hat ev ent if the date would virtua lly "rel ate back" as is s ought t o be contended by t he rev enue, (to the dal e of t he seizure), the prej udice ca used to the third par ty , who wo ul d be drawn i nt o proc eedi ngs a s it were unwit ti ngly (and in ma ny cas es have no co ncern with it a t all), is di s- prop orti ona te. For i nsta nce, if the pa pers are i n fact as signed under Secti on 153-C af ter a period o f four ye ars , the third party as ses see's prej udice is wr it large as it woul d have t o virtually pres erve the r ec ords for a t latest 10 years which is no t t he re quirement i n la w. Such disastr ous and hars h consequenc es ca nnot be a ttributed to Parliament. O n the other ha nd, a plain readi ng of Secti on 153-C s upports the i nte rpreta tion which this Court adopts... ' 7 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
In RR J Securities (Supra ), t he H on'ble Delhi Hi gh Court held as under:
'24. As discussed he reinbefore, i n t erms of pr oviso to Secti on 153C of t he Act, a refer ence t o the date of t he searc h under the sec ond provis o to Secti on 153A of t he Act has to be construed as the dat e of handing over of as sets /doc uments belongi ng to the Ass es see (bei ng t he pers on other than the one searched) to the AO having jurisdictio n to as sess the s aid Assesse e. Furt her proc eedi ngs, by v irtue of Secti on 153C(1) of the Act, woul d have to be in acc or da nce wit h secti on 153A of t he Act and the refer ence t o t he d ate of sea rc h woul d ha ve to be cons tr ued as t he reference to the date of rec ordi ng of satis fa cti on. It wo uld follow t hat the six ass es sment ye ars for whic h as sessments/reas sess ments could be made under Secti on 153C of the Act would als o hav e to be c onstrued wit h referenc e to t he date o f handi ng over of ass ets /doc uments to the AO of t he As sess ee. I n this case, it wo uld be the date of t he recor di ng of s atisf action under Sectio n 153C of the Act, i.e., 8th Sept ember , 2010. In this vi ew, t he a ss essm ents ma de i n r espe ct of as sessment y ears 2003-04 a nd 2004-05 woul d be beyond the period of six assess ment years as rec koned wi th ref erence t o the date of rec ording of sa tis facti on by t he AO of the searched person. It i s c ontended b y t he Revenue tha t the rel eva nt si x as ses sment y ears would be the assess ment yea rs pri or to t he ass essme nt year rel evant t o the previous ye ar i n whic h the s earch was conduc ted. If thi s i nt erpret ation as ca nvass ed by the Revenue is acc epted, it woul d mea n that whereas i n c as e of a person searc hed, asses sments in r ela tion to six previ ous y ears pr ec edi ng t he yea r in whic h the s earc h lakes place can be reopened but i n cas e of a ny ot her pers on, who is not s ea rc hed but his ass ets are s eized from the s earc hed person, the period for whic h t he as sessments coul d be reopened wo uld be muc h beyond the peri od of si x years. This i s so beca us e the da te of handing over of ass ets /docume nts of a person, ot her tha n t he s earched perso n, to the AO woul d be subsequent to the da t e of t he sea rch. This , i n our vie w, woul d be cont rary to the scheme o f Section 153C (1) of the Act, whi c h c onstrues t he date of receipt of ass ets a nd doc uments by the AO of t he Ass es see (other than one searc hed) as the date of the s ea rc h on the Ass es se e, The rati onale a ppears to be that whereas i n the cas e of a searc hed person t he AO of the s earched perso n ass umes pos session of s eized ass ets/doc uments on s earc h of the Asses see; the s ei zed ass ets/documents belongi ng to a pers on other t han a s ea rched pers on co me into pos session of the AO of tha t pe rso n only after the A O of 8 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
the s earched pers on is satisfi ed that t he as sets /doc uments do not belong to the s earc hed pe rs on. Thus , the date on which t he A O of t he pers on o ther t ha n the one s earc hed ass umes the possession of t he s ei zed as sets woul d be the releva nt da te for applying the prov isions of S ec tion 153A of the Act. We, therefore, ac cept the c ont ention tha t i n any view of the matter , as sessment f or AY 2003-04 and A Y 2004-05 were outside the scope of Secti on 153C of the Ac t and the A O had no Juris dic tion t o ma ke an ass es sment of t he Assess ee's inc ome for t hat year.' {Emphas is s upplied}
12. The iss ue, thus, i .e. what would be t he commenc eme nt point for the purpos es of c omputati on of the six and ten y ear bl oc k a nd how the s ix a nd ten y ear bloc k will be co mputed i s no more r es i nt egra. In fact, this is sue has been co nsidered by t he jurisdic tiona l High Court i n t he c ase of Pri nc ipal C ommis sioner of Inc ome- ta x (Cent ral -1) v. Ojj us Medicare (P.) L td reported i n [2024] 465 ITR 101 (Del hi). In the aforesaid j udgment, with respect to what woul d be the co mmenc ement point for the purposes of computation of the six a nd ten ye ar bloc k, the Hon'ble High C ourt, after disc us si ng t he stat utory provis ions a nd vari ous judicial prono uncements , has hel d as under:
F. I DENTI FICAT ION OF THE CO MMENCEMEN T PO INT FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMPUTA TION OF THE SIX AN D T EN YEAR BLOCK
75. The Firs t Provis o to s ecti on 153C si gnifica ntly shifts the refere nce poi nt which is spo ken o f in s ec tion 153A(1 ) whil e defining the poi nt fr om whi c h t he peri od of s ix AYs ' is to be calc ulated, a nd whic h stipul ates it to be t he date of s earch or requis ition, t o t he da te of rec eipt of bo oks of ac co unt, documents or ass ets seiz ed or requi sitioned by the Jurisdicti ona l AO of the non-s earched person. The Pro viso, thus by v irtue of a dee mi ng legal fic ti on, s hifts the commenc ement poi nt from the date o f i nitiation of searc h or ma ki ng of r equisiti on to the da te of r eceipt of books, doc uments o r by the j urisdictional AO of the non-
searc hed person. The s hift of the rel ev ant date i n the case of a non-s earc hed pers on thus bei ng governed a nd regulated by the First P rovis o of s ecti on 153C(1) is, howev er, a n i ssue which is no l onge r res Inte gra ........
80. The afor esaid discussion thus re nders a det ermi native qui etus to the identifica tion of t he s tarti ng pos t from whic h t he bl ock of si x AYs' or the "releva nt 9 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
as sessment year" would have to be calc ulat ed. The contention of the respondents tha t t he s aid bl oc k peri ods woul d ha v e to be reckoned with ref erenc e t o the da te of searc h thus can neither be countena nce d nor possi bly ac cepted. T hat s ubmission i s cl ea rly a ddres sed c ontra ry to a l ong a nd consis tent line o f p recedents whic h ha ve held t o the c ontr ary and whic h unequi v oca lly acc epted the point of c ommenc ement for the purpos es of identifying the six or the "r el eva nt assessment ye ar" to be etched from the date of handov er of doc uments, as sets or things to the AO of the non-s ea rc hed pa rt y.
84. As would be evi dent from the abo ve, alt hough t he decisi ons i n Sarwar A genc y a nd RR J S ec urities we re cited, t he le arne d Judge chose to obs erve that t he sec tion 153C(1 ) Pr oviso would only be liable to be construed as rel eva nt for t he purposes of a ba teme nt. We find ours elves unable t o s ust ai n that line of rea s oni ng since both Sarwa r Agency as well a s RRJ S ec urities ha ve struc k a line which is in c onsona nce with the vi ew ta ken in SS P Aviation and whic h has si nce co me to be af firmed by the S upreme Court in Jasjit Singh. In a ny ca se, the law as enunciated i n RKM Powerge n woul d not s us tain bea ri ng i n mi nd the express enunciatio n of the legal pos ition by the Supreme C ourt as is ma nifest from a rea di ng of para graph 9 of Jasjit Singh.
85. That then takes us to the pri ncipal ques ti on of identifying the poi nt of ori gi n for the pur poses of computa tion of the six A Ys' and the "releva nt a ss es sme nt ye ar" as defi ned by s ecti on J53A. As is ma nifes t from a plain rea di ng of s ecti on 153C, the six AYs ' are ordained to he t hos e which i mmediately pr ecede the A Y rel eva nt to the prev ious year i n whic h the s ea rch ma y have been conduc ted or req uisition ma de. The bl oc k of s ix AYs ' woul d thus have t o be identified be ari ng i n mi nd the AY pertai ning to the FY in which the sea rc h had been conduc ted o r requisi tion made. The a for esa id AY would thus constitut e the a ncho r point for the purposes of identificati o n of the si x AYs '. The stat ute envisa ge s a similar process to be adopted for the pur poses of computa tion of the "releva nt ass ess ment y ear" a nd whe re applicabl e c ons tructs a bl oc k of ten A Ys '. The signi fica nt differenc e between the two howe ver is that while the six AYs ' hi nge upon the phras e "i mmedia tely pr ecedi ng" the AY pert ai ni ng to t he sea rch y ea r, the te n AYs ' are liable to be computed or rec koned from t he e nd of the A Y rel evant to the year of sea rch. In our cons idered opi ni on, the petitioners have correctly identified t he a fores aid distinc ti on as bei ng c rucial a nd determi native for the 10 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
pur poses of reckoni ng t he six and the ten AY bl oc k perio d.
12.1 Further, it is s ee n tha t i n the aforesaid j udgment, the Hon'bl e Hi gh C ourt has noted the rel evant facts whic h ar e a s under:
i. Da t e of s ea rc h a n d s eiz u r e o p er at io n : 18 .1 0 .20 1 9 ii. Da t e of is s u e o f no t ic e u/s 15 3 C : 22 .0 3 .20 2 2 iii . As s es s m ent y ea r s f o r w h ic h n ot ic e u /s 153 C w as is s ued : 2 01 0 -1 1 t o 2 02 0 -2 1 iv . D a t e o f pa s s ing o f t h e as s es s m ent o r d er : 25 .0 3 .20 2 3 12.2 On the a for esaid facts , the Hon'bl e High C ourt has further comput ed which of the six assessm ent yea rs/t en as sessment ye ars woul d be f orm part of t he bl ock period.
The rele vant fi ndi ng of the Ho n'ble Hi gh Co urt i n the judgement deliv ered i n Ojjus Medica re (P.) L td (supra ) i n res pect ther eof is repr oduc ed her eunde r:
G. C OMPU TA TION OF THE SIX A ND TEN YEAR BLOCK IN THE PR ES ENT BATCH OF WR IT PETITIONS
86. In the pres ent batch, Lis t I pertai ns t o writ petitions which have Sati sfac ti on Notes rec orded or sec tion 153C no tices is sue d between t he peri od 01 April 2021 to 31 Marc h 2022. Undisputedly , the Firs t Provis o to s ec tion I53C, a nd whi ch has been co nsistently rec ognized to als o embody the commencement point for rec ko ni ng the six or t he ten A Ys ', shifts t he r elevant date from the date of initiation of s earc h or a requisiti on m ade to t he date of rec eipt of books of account or doc uments and assets s eized by the jurisdicti onal AO of t he non-
searc hed pe rso n. Cons equently, t he block of si x or ten A Ys ' would have to be r eck oned beari ng the afores aid dat e in mi nd. Alt hough i n the present batc h of writ petitions , the dale of actual ha nding ov er ha s not been explicitly menti oned i n a maj ori ty of the writ pe titions , l ea rned counsels for respective sides had address ed s ubmissions bas ed on t he as sumption t hat it w ould be the da te of issua nce of the Satisfactio n Note by the AO of the non- searc hed person a nd i n the ca se of non-a vailabi lity of such a note, the date of is sua nc e of the s ec tion 153C notices whic h would be perti ne nt for the purpos es of the First Proviso to sec tion 153C.
87. Assumi ng, therefore, that the ha ndover of ma terial gat hered i n the course of the sea rch and pertai ni ng t o the non-s earched pers on occur red between 01 A pril 2 021 to 31 Marc h 2022, the same woul d essentially constitute FY 2021-22 as being the previous y ear of searc h for t he 11 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
pur poses of the no n-sea rched enti ty. As a nec ess a ry coroll ary , t he releva nt AY woul d become AY 2022-23. AY 2022-23 would thus co nstitute t he starti ng poi nt for the pur poses of identifyi ng the si x yea rs whic h are spoken of in secti on 153C. T he six A Ys' a re envisage d t o be thos e whic h immediat el y prec ede the A Y so identi fied with ref erence to the previ ous year of sea rch. It would thus lead us to co ncl ude tha t it woul d be t he s ix AYs ' immediately precedi ng A Y 2022-23 which co uld ha ve formed the basis for i ni tiati on of action under s ection 153C. C ons equently, a nd recko ned bac kward, the six rel evant A Ys' woul d be: -
Comput ation of the six-y ear bl ock perio d No. of y ea rs as provided under sec tion 153C of the Act AY 2021-22 1 AY 2020-21 2 AY 2019-20 3 AY 2018-19 4 AY 2017-18 5 AY 2016-17 6 Consequently , A Y 2021-22 would become the first of the six prec edi ng A Ys' a nd would as per the t able s et o ut herei nabov e terminat e a t A Y 2016-17.
88. Sec tion 153A replic at es the ba sis on which t he six AYs ' are to be identified a nd c omputed wi th the s olitary distinc ti on bei ng t hat in the ca se of the se arc hed pers on, the six AYs' are l iable to be computed from the AY pertai ning to t he FY i n whi ch the s ea rch was c onducted. The s tarting poi nt for the pur pose s of identifying the six AYs ' i n the cas e of s ec ti on 153A would thus turn upon t he ye ar of s earc h as oppose d to the ha ndover of mate rial whic h is s poken of i n the Fi rst Proviso t o sec tion 153C. If one were to therefore assume that a sear ch took plac e on a pers on between 1 s t April 2021 to 31 s t Ma rc h 2022, t he perti nent A Y would become A y 2022-23 a nd the corres pondi ng six AYs ' woul d be as follows :
Comput ation of t he six-year block period as No. provided under s ection 153C of the Act AY 2021-22 of 1 AY2020-21 2 AY2019-20 3 AY2018-19 4 AY 2017-18 5 AY2016-17 6 12 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
89. That ta kes us the n to the iss ue of identifyi ng t he "r elevant assess ment y ea r" fo r t he purpos es of computi ng the ten yea r bl ock. Explanati on 1 to s ec tion 153A specifi es the manner i n whi c h the entire ten AY perio d is t o be c omputed. While the c omputa tion of six AYs ' foll ows the position as enunc iated a nd identi fied above, Explanati on 1 presc ribes t hat the t en AYs ' would hav e to be c omputed f rom t he end of the A Y rel eva nt to the FY i n which the searc h was conduc ted or r equisition made. T he te n A Y peri od c onsequently is to be rec koned from t he end of the AY pertai ni ng t o t he pre vious yea r i n whic h the s earch was conducted as dis ti nct from the prec edi ng y ear which is s poke n of in the cas e of the six rel evant A Ys'.
90. Viewed i n t hat li ght, a nd whil e keeping t he period of 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 as the c onsta nt, t he rel evant A Y would be AY 2022-23. The ten A Ys ' wo uld hav e t o be computed from 31 Marc h 2023 with the s aid dat e i ndubitably c ons tituting t he end of the AY rel ev ant to the previ ous y ear of s earc h. Viewed in li ght of t he above, the bl oc k peri od of 10 AYs' would be as follows : -
Computation of the ten-y ear bloc k peri od as N o. of prov id ed under section 153C read w ith s ecti on ye ars 15 3A of the Ac t AY 2022-23 1 AY 2021-22 2 AY 2020-21 3 AY 2019-20 4 AY 2018-19 5 AY 2017-18 6 AY 2016-17 7 AY 2015-16 8 AY 2014-15 9 AY 2013-14 10
94. Similarly, and i n light o f what has been held by us herei nabov e, the releva nt bl oc k of ten A Ys ' when computed for the period 01 April 2022 - 31 March 2023, and wher e the Sat isfacti on Note was dra wn by t he A O o f the non-s earc hed person between those two da tes , woul d be as under : -13 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025
M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
Computa tion of the t en-year block perio d as N o. of provided unde r s ection 153C rea d with s ec tion years 153A of the Act AY2023-24 1 AY 2022-23 2 AY 2021-22 3 AY 2020-21 4 AY 2019-20 5 AY 2018-19 6 AY 2017-18 7 AY 2016-17 8 AY 2015-16 9 AY 2014-15 10
96. To recall, the peti tions formi ng part of Lis t I pert ai n to A Ys 2010-11, 2011-12 a nd 2012-13. So far as the af oreno ted wri t petiti ons a r e c onc erned, undis put edly AY 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 fa ll beyond t he ma xim um perio d of t en AYs' . Si nce the t en AYs', when c omputed from the e nd of AY 2022¬23 woul d t er mi nat e upon AY 2013-14, A Ys' 2 010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 would clearly fall outside t he bloc k peri od of t en AYs' a nd c annot legal ly or justifiably be r eopene d under s ec tion 153C read with section I53A of t he Ac t.
97. Proceedi ng the n to List II, we fi nd tha t the petiti ons placed i n that list per tai n to cases where the ha nd ove r oc curred i n FYs 2 022-23 and 2023-24. Cons equently, the rel evant AYs ' wo uld be A Y2023- 24 and AY 2024-25 res pectiv el y. In light of the pri nciples enunc iated by us and whic h explai n ho w the period o f six a nd ten A Ys ' is liable t o be computed, the reopeni ng of ass es sm ents pertai ning to AYs ' 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 a nd 2 013- 14 would clearly fall bey ond the ambit of ten AYs ' as prov ided under S ec tion I53C rea d w ith S ec tio n 153A. W e not e i n this behalf that all of the writ p etiti ons for ming part of List II pertai n to t he afor enot ed A Ys ' 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 a nd 2013-14...
{Emphasis s upplied}
12. Fr om the afor esaid judgment of the Hon'ble jurisdictio nal Hi gh C ourt, it woul d be s ee n tha t the Ho n'bl e Hi gh C ourt ha s held that t he bl oc k of six AYs ' woul d have t o be identifi ed beari ng i n mi nd the AY pertai ning to t he FY i n which t he sea rc h ha d be en conduc ted or requis iti on made; ho wever, the ten AYs ' ar e to be comput ed or reckoned from the end of the AY 14 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
rel evant to the year of s ea rc h. Accordi ngly, it has be en held t hat i f the S atisfac tion No tes have be en r ec orded o r Secti on 153C notices have been i ssued betwe en the perio d 01 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, then the releva nt AY would be AY 2022-23 and ac cordi ngly AY 2022-23 woul d f orm the fi rst y ea r of t he bloc k of t en AYs' a nd the perio d of ten A Ys ' woul d termi nate in AY 2013-14, and ac cordi ngl y notic es issued for a ss es sme nt years prior t o AY 2013-14 wo ul d fa ll beyond the ambit of t en A Ys' as prov ided under s ectio n 153C r ead wi th secti on 153A.
12.1 It is s een that fa cts of the present cas e ar e simila r to the fac ts of t he a for esa id case i n Opus Medic are (P. ) Ltd (supra), whi ch for the sa ke of conv eni enc e ar e ta bul ated here under :
S.No. Particular s Facts of Ojju s Facts of th e ca se Medicare (P.)Ltd of the appellant a. Date of search an d 18.10.2019 18.10.2019 seizure operation b. Person on wh om search Alankit Grou p of Alankit Grou p of was conducted Companies/entities Companie s/entites c. Dat e of issu e of not ic e 22.03.2022 31.03.2022 u/s 153C d. Asse ssment years for 2010-11 to 2020-21 2010-11 to 2020-21 whic h procee dings u/s 153C w ere initiated e. Date of pass in g of the 25.03.2023 27.03.2023 assessment order 12.2 In this regard, informa tio n rega rdi ng r el eva nt da te/s of rec ording of s atisfac tion note/s a nd ha ndi ng over of seized doc uments/mat eri al t o the AO of the a ppell ant, as prov ided by t he appellant, a re s een from t he c opy of satis fa cti on note of the jurisdictional AO r ecorded on - 06.04.2022, mentioni ng t he da te of handi ng over of doc uments to the AO of t he appel lant as 16.02.2022, as reproduc ed below: -15 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025
M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.16 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025
M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
To s summ ummarize, arize , tthe he rrel elevant evant dates in t he i nsta nstant nt case as submit submitt submitted ted ed by the appellant and s seen een from fro m record a ar are:
re:
e:
- Date of recording of Satisfaction note by thet he AO o f the searched person -16.02.2022 .2022 [pertaining [pertaini ng to AY 2022-23]
- Date of receipt of seized material by the AO of the non-searched searched person /appellant -06.04.202 4.2022 2 [pertaining to AY 2023 2023-24]
- Date of issue of notice no tice u/s 1 15 53C 3C of the Act -
06.04.2022 [pertaining to AY 2023-24] 2023 12.3 It is tthushus se s een en tthat hat the fac ts of tthehe present pr pres ese ent nt ccase as e are ar e similar to the facts considere consider considerededd in tthe he ccase ase of Ojj Ojjusus Medicare (P.) Ltd L td (S (Supra) upr upra)
a) [which [whi ch also re refers refer ferss tto o the same sa me Search Searc h anda nd seizure s eizure eizur e operation oper ation on the Alanki Ala nki t group group].
gr oup].
]. In tthe he i nst nstantant cas case e of the appellant appella nt un under der consideration, consider ation, whil whilee notice u/s 153C of the Act Ac t was issued iss ued to the t he appellant on 06.0 4.2022, i.e. i n the t he FY 2022-23 2022 23 rrelevant elevant to the t he AY 2023 2023-24, 24, however, tthe he seized doc documuments/materi ents/materi al were received by tthe he AO of the t he appellant in the precedi ng fi nancial na ncial yea year, on 16.02.2022, 02.2022, i.e. i n the t he FY 2021 2021-22 rele vant to the AY 2022-23. 23. The Hon'ble C Court ourt i n para 86 of tthehe jjudgment udgment i n tthe he case cas e of Ojj Ojjus us Medicare (s (supra upra)) has obser observed ved that -
... U Undisputedly, ndisputedly, the t he First Pr oviso tto o s section ec tion 153C, and which whic h has been consistently consi stentl y rrecognized ecogni zed to also em embody emb body ody the c commence commenceme ommencem ment ent nt ppoint oint for reck reckoni rec koni oni ng the si x or t he t en A Ys', s shifts hif ts tthe he rrelevant elevant dat datee fr from om the date dat e 17 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
of initi ati on of se arc h or a r equisition made t o the dat e of r eceipt of books of account or doc um ents a nd as sets s eized by the j urisdictional AO of the non- searc hed pers on. Conseque ntly, the bloc k of si x or t en AYs ' wo uld ha ve t o be rec koned beari ng t he af ores aid dat e i n mi nd..
As menti oned earlier , t he date of r ec ei pt of s eized doc uments/ass ets by the AO of the appella nt is ava ilable in the i ns ta nt c ase a nd mentioned as 16.02.2022. Accordi ngly , o n the aforesaid fac ts i n the i nstant cas e of the appella nt, followi ng the judge ment of the H on'ble jurisdictio nal Hi gh Court, it is held that the peri od of t en AYs ' woul d commenc e bei ng counted w. e.f. the A Y 2022- 23, whic h, b y bac kward c ounti ng, w ould ter mi na te i n AY 2013-14. Acc ordingly, r es pec tf ully foll owi ng the afores aid judgment of the jurisdic tional High Court i n the c ase of Ojjus Medic are (P.) Ltd (s upra ), it is held tha t notice issued on 06.04.2022 for insta nt assessment year, AY 2011-12, would fall bey o nd the ambit of t en AYs ' as prov ided under section 153C re ad with secti on 153A, and henc e the impugned assessment order dat ed 25.03.2 023 pass ed u/s 153C of the Act for the i nsta nt AY 2011-12 in purs uance of s uch notice would not s urvi ve, havi ng no legs to stand, and is thus a nnull ed, b ei ng beyond t he perio d of 10 years .
12.4 As it is held tha t the Assessi ng Officer did not ha ve the j uri sdi cti on to ass ess the appellant 's cas e for the A.Y 2011-12, the refore, all the other gro unds rai sed by the appella nt are re ndered academi c i n nature, and henc e not required to be adjudicat ed upo n. Ther e is hence no adj udication on merits i n t hi s ca se.
13. In t he res ult t he appea l filed by the appellant is allowed."
4. We have given our thoughtful co nsideration to the Revenue's and the assessee's respective vehe ment submissions against and in support of the CIT(A)'s above extracted detailed discuss ion. We make it cle ar that there is no dispute on fact inter alia the learned departmental authorities to have carried out the search in question in M/s Alankit Group of cases wherein the assessee's Assessing Officer received the se ized 18 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
material on 15.03.2022 and recorded his section 153C satisfaction on the very date. All this admittedly followed sec tion 153C notice issued to the assessee o n 22.03.2022 as per the facts emanating from the case records.
5. The above being the clinching fact, we find merit in the learned CIT(A)'s detailed d iscussio n that once the date of search in such an instance as per section 153C(1) 1 s t proviso is the da te of receipt o f records by the non-searched person's Assessing Officer, it is the said date which forms the date of search itself; and, therefore, the ten relevant assessment years ought to be counted backwards in light of Explanat ion (1) to sec tion 153A of the Act i.e. from "end o f the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted or requisition is made." Learned CIT -DR could hard ly dispute that given the fact that the assessee's Assessing Officer had received the records in assessment year 2022-23, the re levant ten asse ssment years to be cove red for the purpose of framing the assessment in the assessee's case terminate upto assessment year 2013-14 whereas the three assessment years before us are A.Y. 2011-12 and 2012-13.
6. Faced with this situatio n, the Revenue veheme ntly argues that we ought to go by the date of original search dated 18.10.2019 w herein the ten assessme nt years duly include A.Y. 19 ITA No. 4186/Del/2025 M/s Okaya power (P) Ltd.
ITA Nos. 4187 & 4188/Del/2025 Microtek Leasing & Finance Pvt. Ltd.
2010-11 onward s. We are afraid that such an interpretation would go against Ojjus Medicate (P.) Ltd. (s upra) already settling the issue in assessee's favour and against the department. We accordingly find no mer it in the Revenue's vehement contentions to uphold in the learned CIT(A) identical detailed discussion quashing all the three asse ssment herein as non-est in the eyes of law in very terms. The se Revenue's appeal ITA Nos. 4186 to 4188/Del/2025 fail therefore.
7. All other remaining pleadings between the par ties stand rendered acade mic.
8. To sum up , these Revenue's three appeals ITA Nos. 4186 to 4188/De l/2025 are dismissed; in above terms. A copy of this common order be placed in the respective ca se files.
Order Pronounced in the Open Court o n 10/11/2025.
Sd/- Sd/-
(S. Rifaur Rahman) (Satbeer Singh Godara)
Accountant Member Judicial Member
Dated: 10/11/2025
*Subodh Kumar, Sr. PS*
Copy forwarded to:
Appellant
1. Respondent
2. CIT
3. CIT(Appeals)
4. DR: ITAT
ASSISTANT REGISTRAR