In a search batch, AY 2012-13 falls outside the 10-year window (ITAT Delhi)

Order: ITA Nos. 4153 & 4008/Del/2025 with ITA Nos. 2708-2717/Del/2025 (ITAT Delhi), Assessment Years 2012-13 to 2022-23, pronounced 04.02.2026.

Facts

For AY 2012-13 the Assessing Officer passed a reassessment order dated 31.03.2023 assessing Rs.3,20,56,960 after adding Rs.1,95,65,527 on estimated undisclosed-sale profits; the Commissioner (Appeals) quashed it on limitation.
The Revenue defended the notice dated 20.01.2023 on the ground that ten years from AY 2012-13 run to 31.03.2023, and disputed the block-period computation from the year of search by reference to sections 153C and 149(1)(b).

Issue

Whether AY 2012-13, reopened after 01.04.2021 in a search-linked batch, survives when the 10-year count under the old provisions stops at AY 2013-14.

Holding

Counting nine preceding years from the search year AY 2022-23 reaches AY 2013-14, so AY 2012-13 fell beyond the limitation period under the old provisions and was barred, following the jurisdictional High Court decisions the Revenue did not controvert.
For any reopening after 01.04.2021 of AY 2021-22 or earlier years, limitation is reckoned under the old section as laid down by the Supreme Court, and the Commissioner (Appeals)'s reliance on that law was upheld with all Revenue grounds dismissed.
For the remaining years the assessee had challenged the validity of the section 144B approval; in the final result all assessee appeals were allowed and all Revenue appeals dismissed.

Why a client would care

In a multi-year search reopening, limitation is tested year by year from the search year backwards — the earliest years drop out first even where later years survive.

Questions clients ask

Q1. AY 2012-13 was reopened in a search-linked batch after 01.04.2021. Did the reopening survive?

No — counting nine preceding years from the search year AY 2022-23 reaches AY 2013-14, so AY 2012-13 fell beyond the limitation period.

Q2. Which limitation law applied to reopenings of earlier years after 01.04.2021?

The old section, as laid down by the Supreme Court, for any reopening of AY 2021-22 or an earlier year after 01.04.2021.

Q3. What was the overall result?

All assessee appeals were allowed and all Revenue appeals dismissed.

Disclaimer

This note summarises a Tribunal order for general information. It is not professional advice and does not predict the outcome of any other case. Tax and company-law positions depend on facts and dates; take a written opinion before you act. Harun Raaj & Associates is a Chartered Accountants firm in Visakhapatnam.

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