Allen Petrochemicals Pvt. Ltd. vs DCIT

Per Satbeer Singh Godara, Judicial Member:

This assessee’s appeal for Assessment Year 2018-19, arises against the CIT(A)-3, Noida’ s DIN & order No. ITBA/APL/M/250/2025-26/1076842849(1) dated 09.06.2025, in proceedings u/s 153C r.w.s. 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Case called twice. None appears at the assessee’s behest. The assessee/appellant had also not put in appearance in the previous hear ing as well. We thus proceeded ex-parte against the assessee.

Mr. Das vehemently argues that both the lower authorities have rightly made section 69C r.w.s. 115BBE of the Act, unexplained expenditure addition representing assessee’s cash payments to the searched party, in the assessme nt order dated 26.03.2024 as upheld in the lower appellate discussion.

We have given our thoughtful consideration to the assessee’s and the Revenue’s respective stands all along. Suffice to say, the lear ned departmental authorities had carried out a search in M/s B lomstrende Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. gro up of cases on 15.01.2021. This followed the centralization o f the assessee’s case(s) as well. And that the learned Assessing Officer then recorded section 153C satisfaction followed by his notice dated 02.01.2024 which finally culminated in the impugned assessment framed forming subject matter of adjudication before us.

We further notice that the learned Assessing Officer had himself made it clear at page 2 in para 3 of the assessment order that the seized diary and various loose sheets found/seized during the course of search in M/s Sunny Chemical Pvt. Ltd. and the information co ntained therein “belongs to” M/s Allen Petrochemicals Pvt. Ltd. and has bear ing upon the deter mination of it’s total income. That being the case, we invite d the Revenue’s attention to section 153C(1)(a)(b) wherein the le gislature has incorporated the clinching statutory expression o f “belongs to” for any money, bullion, jewe llery......than such seized documents and loo se sheets etc. covered under the latter clause. This tribunal’s recent learned co-or dinate bench in Prashant Premchand Bafana Vs. ACIT IT(SS)A No. 119 & 120/Pun/2022 decided on 08.04.2025 has already settle d the issue in the assessee’s favo ur and against the departme nt that satisfactio n recorded u/s 1 53C could not treat such books of account or documents as “belongs to” a third person after the legislative amendment therein vide Finance Act, 2015 w.e.f. 01.06.2015. We adopt the very analo gy herein-as-well mutatis mutandis to quash the learned Assessing Officer’s assessment dated 26.03.2024 in very terms.

All other remaining pleadings between the parties stand rendered academic.

This assessee’s appeal is allowed.