Income Tax Assessment Order u/s 153A Found Non-Est in Eyes of Law: ITAT upholds Assessee’s Appeal [Read Order]

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed the assessment order passed under section 153 A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, holding it as not valid in the eyes of law. It was ruled that there is no procedure for obtaining the field authorities' affidavit in support of the respective orders under the provisions of the Act.

The appellant assessee, Vadudev Garg, filed eight appeals for assessment years 2012-13 to 2019-20, against the CIT(A), Gurgaon’s common order passed on March 25, 2025 with respect to proceedings under Section 153A/143(3). In the appeals filed, assessment orders made by the Assessing Officer were called out, in furtherance to the search in question dated July 30, 2018 for want of a valid section 153D approval.

The Revenue, represented by Dayainder Singh Sidhu, CIT-DR maintained that the objection raised by the assessee regarding validity of approval under Section 153D deserves to be rejected in totality. He submitted that “Addl. CIT duly discharged his statutory obligation, and procedural objections cannot vitiate valid assessment orders.” It was further claimed that the facts of the assessee’s case are distinguishable from cited precedents.

The bench, presided over by Satbeer Singh Godara (Judicial Member) and Rifaur Rahman (Accountant Member), found no merit in the arguments presented by the Revenue. It held that there is no such procedure of getting the field authorities affidavit in support of their respective orders under the provisions of the Act that has been stated in the case records.

The bench thus concluded that given the facts and circumstances, the impugned section 153A assessments are not non-est in the eyes of law, thereby quashing them and allowing assessee’s eight appeals.

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