TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 875
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....o as the First Appellate Authority or 'the ld. FAA' for short) in appeals filed before him against the orders of the ld. Assessing Officer (hereinafter referred to as the Ld. AO, for short) passed u/s. 153C r.w.s 143(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereafter referred to as 'the Act'). Further details of the orders of the lower authorities are as under: - ITA No. & AY Ld. FAA who passed the appellate order Appeal No. & Date of order of the Ld. FAA AO who passed the assessment order & Date of order 6347/D/25 2015-16 CIT(A)-26 Delhi DIN & Order No : ITBA/APL/S/250/2025- 26/1079349815(1) Dated: 06.08.2025 ACIT, CC- 14 New Delhi Dated 31.12.2019 6348/D/25 2014-15 CIT(A)-26 Delhi DIN & Order No : ITBA/APL/S/250/20....
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....ience we reproduce the impugned approval: 4. Apart from defending the approval on the basis that same sufficiently indicates application of mind and that being administrative in nature has been rightly granted, the Ld. DR has vehemently opposed the grounds submitting that Section 292BC has been introduced by way of amendment recently and the same holds that the approval is supervisory and administrative function and any deficiency in the reasons would not vitiate the approval. It was submitted that the provision is applicable retrospectively. It was submitted on behalf of the department that the date referred 01.04.2021 in the amendment brought with the introduction of Section 292BC of the Act has to be read in consonance to the date of ....
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....ance can be placed on decisions in Asst. CIT v. Serajuddin and Co. [2023 SCC OnLine Ori 992], PCIT v. Anuj Bansal [ITA 368/2023]. The Co-ordinate Bench of the Tribunal while examining the similar issue in the case of SEH Realtors Pvt. Ltd. Vs. ACIT in ITA No. 2503/Del/2017 and connected matters for Assessment Year 2013-14 vide order dated 23/07/2024, considered all the judicial pronouncements on the issue and has held as under: - "8. We find as per the scheme of the Act, for framing search assessments, the Ld. AO can pass the search assessment order u/s. 153A or u/s. 153C of the Act only after obtaining prior approval of the draft assessment order and the conclusions reached thereon from the ld. JCIT, in terms of section 153D of th....
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....e appraisal report submitted by the Investigation Wing to the Ld. AO and ld. JCIT are merely guidance to the Ld. AO and are purely internal correspondences on which the assessee does not have any access. Moreover, the Act mandates the Ld. AO to frame the assessment after getting prior approval from ld. JCIT u/s. 153D of the Act. The ld. JCIT getting involved in the search assessment proceedings right from inception does not have any support from the provisions of the Act as no where the Act mandates so. The scheme of the Act mandates due application of mind by the Ld. AO to examine the seized documents independently dehors the appraisal report of the Investigation Wing and seek explanation/clarifications from the assessee on the contents of....
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....uld be drawn is that the ld. AO is not serious about the statutory deadlines provided in the Act. In our considered opinion, if the arguments of the Ld. CIT DR are to be appreciated that the ld. JCIT need not apply his mind while granting approval of the draft assessment orders u/s. 153D of the Act as it is not provided in section 153D of the Act, then it would make the entire approval proceedings contemplated u/s. 153D of the Act otiose. The law provides only the Ld. AO to frame the assessment, but, certain checks and balances are provided in the Act by conferring powers on the ld. JCIT to grant judicious approval u/s. 153D of the Act to the draft assessment orders placed by the Ld. AO. 7. The contention on behalf of department that Sec....