https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=465043 ITAT Mumbai-AT allowed the assessees' appeals, holding that the approvals under s.153D granted by the Additional CIT were mechanical and without application of mind, thereby vitiating the search assessments framed under s.153A. The Tribunal emphasized that "prior approval" under s.153D is a substantive safeguard requiring the approving authority to peruse the draft orders and underlying material and to exercise independent judgment, not a mere formality. Noting glaring errors in the assessment orders, including references to non-existent assessees and pre-printed approval details in draft orders, ITAT held that such approvals were invalid and consequently quashed all corresponding assessments, rendering all other grounds academic. en-us Tue, 30 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:09:05 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=465043 ITAT Mumbai-AT allowed the assessees' appeals, holding that the approvals under s.153D granted by the Additional CIT were mechanical and without application of mind, thereby vitiating the search assessments framed under s.153A. The Tribunal emphasized that "prior approval" under s.153D is a substantive safeguard requiring the approving authority to peruse the draft orders and underlying material and to exercise independent judgment, not a mere formality. Noting glaring errors in the assessment orders, including references to non-existent assessees and pre-printed approval details in draft orders, ITAT held that such approvals were invalid and consequently quashed all corresponding assessments, rendering all other grounds academic. Case-Laws Income Tax Tue, 30 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=465043