Sec 153A cannot be used to re-agitate concluded assessment in the absence of any incriminating material. Hon’ble Agra ITAT Bench has in the order of DCIT V/S Kalyani Chaturvedi has held that assessments that have attained finality don’t abate at the time of search and they cannot be done de-novo u/s 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in the absence of any fresh incriminating material found during the course of search by observing as under :-
“We have noted that on the same issue the Assessing Officer had made an addition in the original assessment order under section 143(3) dated 29.12.206 and the said addition was deleted by the learned CIT(A). The matter travelled further in appeal before this Tribunal, and the view so taken by the CIT(A) was upheld. The matter did not rest there. The assessment was reopened and a reassessment order under section 148 r.w.s. 143(3) was also passed on 10th December 2010, and the same issue was raised again, but this exercise also met the same fate once again. The Assessing Officer has, in this backdrop, racked up the same issue yet again in the impugned order under section 153 A but then no fresh or incriminating material is found in this search proceedings either. Clearly, the scheme of Section 153 A does not permit such an exercise by the Assessing Officer. Learned Departmental Representative has not been able to point out our attention to any judicial precedent to support his case or demonstrate as to how the addition in respect of those very issues, which have received finality earlier and in respect of which no new or incriminating material is found, can be taken up ion the course of proceedings under section 153 A on the basis of this search”