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2019 (11) TMI 920 - AT - Income TaxAssessment u/s 153A - it is submitted that, so-called approval as granted by the Learned Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Range, Kanpur u/s 153D is no Approval in the eye of law as the purported Approval been granted without due application of mind and such a mechanically granted Approval vitiates the Assessment order rendering it to be held illegal and void ab-initio - HELD THAT:- In the case at hand despite availability of time, the Additional CIT has been taking excuse of limitation and has chosen to grant approval without application of his own mind but on the undertaking of the AO that “while completing the assessment as per the draft assessment order, all the observations made in the appraisal report relating to examination/investigation as also the issues identified in the course of examination of seized material have carefully considered.” In our view such a practice is required to be deprecated and we deprecate the same. We hold that if the approval is granted by the superior authorities in mechanical manner without application of mind then the very purpose of obtaining approval is defeated. Moreover, where 4 clear days’ time was available with the administrative authority, it was a half-hearted approval and as such held as no approval in the eyes of law. Accordingly, we have no hesitation in declaring that the Approval granted by the Additional CIT, Central, Kanpur on 27.03.2015 is no approval in the eyes of law and therefore, the assessment made by the AO based on such an approval is also declared to be null and void. We therefore, quash the Assessment orders under section 153A of the Act
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