Gokul Kumar Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
Single Consolidated 153D Approval for 28 Assessees Invalid— No Independent Application of Mind—All Assessments Quashed
Assessee filed appeals for ten consecutive AYs arising from search assessments framed u/s 153A r.w.s. 143(3). The core legal ground raised was that the assessments were void due to invalid approval u/s 153D. Tribunal examined the record and noted that AO forwarded only draft assessment orders on 30.12.2019 seeking approval. The Addl. CIT issued one single consolidated approval for 28 assessees covering multiple years, without any reference to examination of individual draft orders or application of mind. The mechanical nature of this approval is evident from the reproduced approval letter on pages 3–6 of the order.
Tribunal relied extensively on earlier decisions in the Nagpal Group including Prateek Nagpal Vs ACIT & Anu Nagpal Vs ACIT, where identical 153D approvals dated 30.12.2019 were held invalid and assessments were quashed. In those cases, also arising out of the same batch approval, Tribunal had held that absence of independent, year-wise scrutiny of draft orders renders the approval non est.
Applying the same reasoning, Tribunal held that the impugned approval was mechanical & invalid, vitiating the entire search assessments. The assessments for all ten AYs (2009-10 to 2018-19) were therefore quashed, rendering all additions infructuous. Consequently, all stay applications also became infructuous. Appeals were allowed, and stay applications dismissed as infructuous.
