TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 994
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....8/2014-15 (for 2015-16); CIT(A), Delhi-29/10981/2015-16 (for 2016- 17); CIT(A), Delhi-29/10614/2016-17 (for 2017-18); CIT(A), Delhi- 29/10487/2017-18 (for 2018-19); CIT(A), Delhi-29/10576/2018-19 (for 2019- 20); & CIT(A), Delhi-29/10521/2019-20 (for 2020-21); arising out of the appeals before it against the orders dated 28.09.2021 passed u/s 144 r.w.s. 153A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') by the DCIT, Central Circle-27, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the Ld. AO). 2. Heard and perused the records. Search and seizure operations were conducted at the premise of Shri. Kehar Singh on 04-03-2020. Notice u/s 153A of the Act was issued on 08.06.2021. Thereafter, notices u/s 142(1) of the Act were issued ....
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....vide order dated 22-5-2024. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant is in appeal before the Tribunal. 4. At the time of hearing, the ld. AR has primarily argued on questioning the approval granted u/s 153D of the Act alleging the same was done in a mechanical manner. The ld. AR has relied a catena of decisions of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court and the coordinate benches of Delhi to contend that there are various discrepancies in the assessment order which only establish that the assessment order was passed without application of mind. 5. The ld. DR has, however, defended the same and submitted that the approval was duly granted on the basis of all the relevant materials like assessment record, appraisal report, incriminating evidences and ....
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....e of the assessee for assessment years 2014-15 to 2020-21. 8. Then we find that although at the time of granting approval the ld. competent authority has mentioned that: "Approval is hereby accorded u/s 153D of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to the draft assessment order as amended in the following case, on the basis of the detailed discussion with you time to time, information available on record, facts mentioned in the Appraisal Report and relevant seized documents perused by you & brought to the notice of undersigned." 7. However, the aforesaid seems to be some sort of mechanical exercise only because in the corresponding letter from the ld. AO dated 27.09.2021 (supra) only draft orders were submitted for examination. There is n....
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....r proper section of the Income Tax Act, 1961." 9. The aforesaid observations of the ld. competent authority, as emphasized above in bold italics by us, when considered in the light of the alleged incriminating evidences used in assessments, we find that in fact, no data was seized in electronic format from hard drive/CDs/pen drives/mobile data so as to necessitate making these observations by the ld. competent authority. The aforesaid observations and directions only indicate that in a perfunctory manner without application of mind post completion of assessment, on the draft orders the approval has been granted. 10. It is now settled proposition of law that the approval so granted without taking into consideration the assessment recor....