JUDGMENT

S. Ravindra Bhat, J.

1. Special leave granted. With consent of counsel for parties, the appeal was heard finally. The Commissioner of Income tax (hereafter “the revenue”) appeals against a judgment of the Gujarat High Court,¹[Dated 14 August, 2018 in Special Civil Application No. 21028 of 2017] which quashed a notice issued under Section 147/148, Income Tax Act (hereafter “the Act”) seeking to re-open the respondent’s assessment, for the assessment year (AO) 2010-11. The respondent is hereafter, referred to as “the assessee”.

2. The facts are that search proceedings were conducted- by the revenue, under the Act, at the office premises of one Shirish Chandrakant Shah on 09.04.2013 at Mumbai; during the course of the search, several materials- and documents, were seized. On analysis of such documents, the revenue was of opinion that Shirish Chandrakant Shah was providing accommodation entries, through various companies controlled and managed by him, and that the assessee was one of the beneficiaries of the business (of accommodation entries provided by Shri Shirish Shah) th