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Delhi High Court – Orders
Sahil Kohli vs Assistant Commissioner Of Income Tax & … on 21 April, 2025
Author: Vibhu Bakhru
Bench: Vibhu Bakhru
$~105
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 4980/2025, CM APPLS. 22856/2025 & 22855/2025
SAHIL KOHLI .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Yogesh Jagia, Mr. Amit Sood,
Mr. Mohit Gupta, Advocates.
versus
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME
TAX & ORS. .....Respondent
Through: Mr. Vikramaditya Singh, JSC, Mr.
Debesh Panda, Mr. Zehra Khan, Ms.
Yashika Gupta, Mr. Sajal Singhai,
Advocates.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA
ORDER
% 21.04.2025
1. Issue notice. Learned counsel for Revenue accepts notice.
2. The Petitioner has filed the present petition, inter alia, praying as
under:-
“(a.) Allow the present Writ Petition and issue any writ, order
or direction in the nature of Mandamus and/or Certiorari
and/or any other writ, order or direction in the nature thereof to
quash/set aside the Impugned notice dated 30/03/2024 u/s
148A(b) of the Act and approval dated 06/05/2024 granted
under section 151 of Act and consequent order passed in
pursuance thereof on 07/05/2024 u/s 148A(d) of the Act and
Impugned Notice u/s 148 of the Act dated 08/05/2024 issued
to the Petitioner for AY 2014-15, by the Respondent No.1 and
all proceedings emanating therefrom, and;
(b.) Pass any other such orders as this Hon’ble Court may
deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case
in favour of the Petitioner and against the Respondents.”
3. It is the Petitioner’s case that the impugned notice issued under
Section 148 of the Act has been issued beyond the period of limitation. The
Petitioner states that he was carrying on the business of catering under the
This is a digitally signed order.
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The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/04/2025 at 21:34:09
name and style of a sole proprietorship concern named Saffron Caterers.
Thereafter, the partnership firm was constituted with effect from 18.09.2015
as recorded in the partnership deed dated 16.01.2016. And, the said firm
continued the said business. It is stated that during the previous year relevant
to the assessment year [AY] 2014-15, the Petitioner was carrying on
business under the name of its sole proprietorship concern, Saffron Caterers.
4. The Petitioner filed its return for the AY 2014-15 on 31.03.2015.
5. On 03.05.2018, search was conducted under Section 132 of the
Income Tax Act, 1961, [the Act]. However the Petitioner claims that no
incriminating material was found relating to the relevant assessment year.
Notwithstanding that no incriminating material was found during the search,
the Assessing Officer [AO] issued a notice under Section 153A of the Act.
The said proceedings culminated in assessment order dated 29.06.2021
whereby the AO made an addition of ₹1,03,67,479/- to the Petitioner’s
income for financial year [FY] 2013-14 relevant to AY 2014-15. The
Petitioner appealed the said decision before the Commissioner of Income
Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] which was allowed by an order dated 06.09.2023.
The learned CIT(A) held that since no incriminating material found during
the search in respect of the relevant assessment year, the re-assessment
proceedings initiated by issuance of notice under Section 153A were invalid.
Thereafter, on 30.03.2024, the AO issued a notice under Section 148A(b) of
the Act relying on certain observations made by Supreme Court in Principal
Commissioner of Income-tax, Central-3 v. Abhisar Buildwell (P.) Ltd.:
(2023) SCC OnLine SC 481. According to the Revenue, the observations
made by the Supreme Court in the said decision could be construed as
directions and findings pursuant to which re-assessment proceedings could
be initiated by virtue of Section 150(1) of the Act notwithstanding the periodThis 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 24/04/2025 at 21:34:09
of limitation as prescribed under Section 149(1) of the.
6. Thus, the Petitioner’s objections raised on that ground was rejected
and the AO passed an order dated 07.05.2024 under Section 148A(d) of the
Act holding that it is a fit case for issuance of a notice under Section 148 of
the Act. The said order was served to the Petitioner accompanied by a notice
under section 148 of the Act.
7. We are unable to accept that any observation made by Supreme Court
in the case of Principal Commissioner of Income-tax, Central-3 v. Abhisar
Buildwell (P.) Ltd. (supra) could be construed as directions or findings for
the purpose of Section 150(1) of the Act.
8. The said issue is covered by earlier decision of this Court in ARN
Infrastructures India Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax
Cental Circle-28 Delhi & Ors.: Neutral Citation No.: 2024:DHC:7423-
DB. The relevant extract of the said decision is set out below:-
“38. It is pertinent to note that a reference to Sections 147 and
148 of the Act in Abhisar Buildwell firstly appears in
paragraph 33 of the report and where the Supreme Court
observed that in cases where a search does not result in any
incriminating material being found, the only remedy that
would be available to the Revenue would be to resort to
reassessment.
39. However, the Supreme Court caveated that observation by
observing that the initiation of reassessment would be
“…..subject to fulfilment of the conditions mentioned in
Sections 147/148, as in such a situation, the Revenue cannot
be left with no remedy”. This sentiment came to be reiterated
with the Supreme Court observing that the power of the
Revenue to initiate reassessment must be saved failing which
it would be left with no remedy. It was thereafter observed in
paragraph 36.4 of the report that insofar as completed or
unabated assessments were concerned, they could be reopened
by the AO by invocation of Sections 147/148 of the Act,
subject to the fulfillment of the conditions “……asThis 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 24/04/2025 at 21:34:10
envisaged/mentioned under Sections 147/148 of the Act and
those powers are saved”.
40. It thus becomes apparent that the liberty which the
Supreme Court accorded and the limited right inhering in the
Revenue to initiate reassessment was subject to that power
being otherwise compliant with the Chapter pertaining to
reassessment as contained in the Act. The observations of the
Supreme Court cannot possibly be read or construed as a carte
blanche enabling the respondents to overcome and override the
restrictions that otherwise appear in Section 149 of the Act.
The observations of the Supreme Court in Abhisar Buildwell
were thus intended to merely convey that the annulment of the
search assessments would not deprive or denude the Revenue
of its power to reassess and which independently existed.
However, the Supreme Court being mindful of the statutory
prescriptions, which otherwise imbue the commencement of
reassessment, qualified that observation by providing that such
an action would have to be in accordance with law. This note
of caution appears at more than one place in that judgment and
is apparent from the Supreme Court observing that the power
to reassess would be subject to the fulfilment of the conditions
mentioned in Sections 147 and 148 of the Act.”
9. In view of the above the present petition is allowed and the impugned
notice dated 08.05.2024 issued under Section 148 of the Act and further
proceedings commenced pursuant to the said notice are set aside.
10. All pending applications also stand disposed of.
VIBHU BAKHRU, J
TEJAS KARIA, J
APRIL 21, 2025
KG
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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 24/04/2025 at 21:34:10
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