https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=773884 The ITAT Visakhapatnam held that assessment under section 153A requires mandatory prior approval under section 153D, which cannot be a mere formality and must demonstrate application of mind by the approving authority. The tribunal found that approval granted on the same date as draft submission (29.09.2021) with assessment passed the next day (30.09.2021) lacked proper examination of relevant documents and was made under time constraints. The approval was deemed invalid due to mechanical granting without adequate consideration, rendering the entire assessment order void ab-initio. The assessee's appeal was allowed. en-us Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 30 Jun 2025 08:43:50 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=773884 The ITAT Visakhapatnam held that assessment under section 153A requires mandatory prior approval under section 153D, which cannot be a mere formality and must demonstrate application of mind by the approving authority. The tribunal found that approval granted on the same date as draft submission (29.09.2021) with assessment passed the next day (30.09.2021) lacked proper examination of relevant documents and was made under time constraints. The approval was deemed invalid due to mechanical granting without adequate consideration, rendering the entire assessment order void ab-initio. The assessee's appeal was allowed. Case-Laws Income Tax Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=773884