Impress Estates Pvt. Ltd. Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
Delhi ITAT, comprising quashed 43 search assessments relating to Moin Akhtar Qureshi, his family, & associated companies after finding that approvals granted u/s 153D were mechanical & without application of mind.
Tribunal noted that JCIT had approved 23 draft assessment orders for multiple years & assessees either on the same day or within 24 hours, sometimes through a single composite approval. It held that such mass approvals were humanly impossible to review judiciously.
Assessees argued that section 153D requires a quasi-judicial exercise, not a rubber-stamp process. Relying on Delhi High Court rulings in Anuj Bansal (2023) & Shiv Kumar Nayyar (2024), they claimed the entire assessments were void ab initio. The Revenue contended that the JCIT’s role was merely administrative & sought a remand, but the Bench rejected this view.
Holding that section 153D approval is a substantive safeguard requiring year-wise, reasoned application of mind, the Tribunal ruled that the approvals were invalid, making all assessments non est in law. Consequently, the connected penalty orders u/s 271(1)(c) were also set aside.
Result: All 43 assessments quashed; assessees’ appeals allowed; Revenue’s dismissed — affirming that mechanical approval under section 153D vitiates the entire search assessment.
