ABC Sales Corporation Vs ITO (ITAT Cochin)
ITAT Cochin held that treating section 153D of the Income Tax Act as pari-materia to section 148 mechanism without any such indication in the Act is unjustified and hence matter remanded back to CIT(A).
Facts- Apart from various other issues; the assessee had argued in the lower appellate proceedings that the impugned assessment had not been framed in due compliance to sec.153D of the Act requiring the Assessing Officer to obtain the statutory approval from the prescribed authority(ies).
Conclusion- Held that we find there is not even an indication as to how and in what manner, the prescribed authority had applied his mind since it has treated sec.153D as pari-materia to sec.148 mechanism without any such indication in the Act. We accordingly deem it appropriate in these facts and circumstances and in larger interest of justice that the instant fundamental issue; along with all other substantive grounds herein, deserves to be adjudicated by the learned CIT(A) as per law.
Held that we are informed that all these cases arise from the department’s sec.132 search action in M/s. ABC group of concerns carried-out on 17.02.2020 wherein various inter-connected issues are raised at these assessees’ behest. We thus deem it appropriate for the sake of brevity that all these other appeals raising inter-connected issues, and more particularly, those involving sec.153A and 153C assessments, need to be re-adjudicated by the learned CIT(A) without getting influenced by his earlier lower findings.
