TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (4) TMI 1025
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....9C of expenses made on foreign travel on an ad-hoc and arbitrary basis, without having any material to precisely pinpoint expenses purported to have been incurred. 3. The Id CIT(A) erred in facts and circumstances of the case and in law in only granting partial relief against additions that the AO made under section 68, and in violation pre-requisites for making addition u/s 68. 4. The Id CIT(A) had erred in facts and circumstances of the case and in law in upholding additions that the AO made as bogus business expenses under section 69C without appreciating that appellant had opted for presumptive taxation u/s 44AD." 2.2 ITA No. 295/Del/2022, (A.Y. 2017-18) "1. The Id CIT(A) erred in facts and circumstances of the Apple case and in law in upholding additions that the AO made u/s 69C of expenses made on foreign travel on an ad-hoc and arbitrary basis, without having any material to precisely pinpoint expenses purported to have been incurred 2. The id CIT(A) erred in facts and circumstances of the case and in law in upholding additions that the AO made under section 68 on protective basis, prior to his making assessment on a substantial basis i....
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....ferred an appeal before the CIT (A). The Ld. CIT (A) vide order dated 16/11/2021, partly allowed the Appeal filed by the assessee. Aggrieved by the order of the Ld. CIT(A) dated 16/11/2021, the assessee preferred the present Appeal on the grounds mentioned above. 5. The assessee has raised an additional grounds of Appeal contending that the assessment orders passed by the A.O. and the order of the CIT(A) are void-ab-initio as the assessment orders have been passed consequential to the invalid /illegal approval made u/s 153D of the Act by additional CIT. Since the additional ground being legal and jurisdictional issue, we have heard on the said ground. 6. The Ld. Counsel for the assessee submitted that the assessment order passed u/s 153A/143(3) of the Act is void-ab - initio as the said assessment order has been passed based on combined/consolidated approval issued u/s 153D of the Act by the Additional CIT/Central Range-7 Delhi dated 21/12/2018 without any reference on the order sheet and the same is mechanical one, therefore submitted that the impugned assessment orders and the orders of the Commissioner are liable to be quashed. To support the said submission the Ld. Assess....
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.... 10,99v220/- 52,29,220/- 5 Ms. Veena Singh AXJPS9588H 2015-16 7,47,730/- 33,69,650/- 6 Ms, Veena Singh AXJPS9588H 2016-17 13,18,830/- 182,31,454/- 7 Ms; Veena Singh AXJPS9588H 2017-18 1165,510/- 2,52,33,8201- 3. Copies of the final assessment orders should be forwarded to this office immediately after passing the orders. Proposal -tor retention of seized- material, should also be forwarded to this, office within time as per IT Act, 1961. Before passing the final order, in case, there is requirement of protecting the- interest of revenue, permission u/s 281B from Pr. CIT(.C)3, New Delhi should be taken: Office notice indicating additions in relevant assessment years should be indicated In all Assessment Year, A.O to certify about perusal and verification of data seized in electronic format through working copies having certified hash values as that of original hard drives/CDs/ pen drives/mobile data & any other electronic data, You have also certified to the undersigned that all Information available In AIR/CIB/from other Law Enforcement Agencies have been properly scrutinized by you before finalizing the draft assess....
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....half of assessee that the draft assessment orders are not available on record as no such draft Assessment order has been referred while according the approval u/s 153D of the Act. 11. The provision of Section 153D of the Act envisages prior approval of JCIT before passing the assessment order, for the purpose of ready reference the provisions of Section 153D of the Act is reproduced as under:- Prior approval necessary for assessment in cases of search or requisition. 153D. No order of assessment or reassessment shall be passed by an Assessing Officer below the rank of Joint Commissioner in respect of each assessment year referred to in clause (b) of [subsection (1) of] section 153A or the assessment year referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 153B, except with the prior approval of the Joint Commissioner:] ^48[Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply where the assessment or reassessment order, as the case may be, is required to be passed by the Assessing Officer with the prior approval of the "[Principal Commissioner or] Commissioner under sub-section (12) of section 144BA.] Rectification of mistake....
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....e judgment of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ("the Tribunal" for short) dated 19th August, 2015. 2. Following question was argued before us for our consideration: "Whether on the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, the Tribunal was justified in holding that there was no 'application of mind' on the part of the Authority granting approval? 3. Brief facts are that the Tribunal by the impugned judgment set aside the order of the Assessing Officer passed under Section 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ("the Act" for short) for Assessment Year 2007- 08. This was on the ground that the mandatory statutory requirement of obtaining an approval of the concerned authority as flowing from Section 153D of the Act, before passing the order of assessment, was not complied with. 4. This was not a case where no approval was granted at all. However, the Tribunal was of the opinion that the approval granted by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax was without application of mind and, therefore, not a valid approval in the eye of law. The Tribunal reproduced the observations made by the Additional CIT while granting approval and came to the co....
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.... invalid in eye of law. We are conscious that the statute does not provide for any format in which the approval must be granted or the approval granted must be recorded. Nevertheless, when the Additional CIT while granting the approval recorded that he did not have enough time to analyze the issues arising out of the draft order, clearly this was a case in which the higher Authority had granted the approval without consideration of relevant issues. Question of validity of the approval goes to the root of the matter and could have been raised at any time. In the result, no question of law arises. 8. Accordingly, the Tax Appeal is dismissed." 16. In the case of ACIT, Circle-1 (2) Vs. Serajuddin and Co. the Hon'ble Supreme Court in SLP (Civil) Dairy No. 44989/2023 vide order dated 28/11/2023, dismissed the Appeal filed by the Department of Revenue against the order dated 15/03/2023 in ITA No. 43/2022 passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Orissa at Cuttack, wherein the Hon'ble High Court had quashed the Assessment Order on the ground of inadequacy in procedure adopted for issuing approval u/s 153D of the Act by expressing discordant note on such mechanical exercise o....