Daily Archives: June 5, 2026

Mechanical approval under Section 153D without perusing assessment records entirely vitiates the search assessment. Issue Whether an assessment order passed under Section 153A is legally valid if the mandatory prior approval required under Section 153D was granted by the Joint Commissioner in a mechanical manner without perusing the assessment records, and whether the subsequent insertion… Read More »

Reassessment is vitiated and quashed if the AO blindly invokes Explanation 2(b) despite a completed scrutiny assessment. Issue Whether the reopening of an assessment under Section 147 is legally valid if the Assessing Officer (AO) invokes Explanation 2(b) to Section 147 for verification of bank credits, despite the fact that a regular scrutiny assessment under… Read More »

Protective tax assessments collapse once independent black money proceedings establish the assessee lacks beneficial ownership. Issue Whether a protective assessment addition made under Section 69 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 regarding foreign assets can be sustained if parallel proceedings under the Black Money Act, 2015 definitively conclude that the assessee is not the beneficial owner… Read More »

Penalty proceedings must be remanded if the underlying quantum appeal is pending before appellate authorities. Issue Whether a penalty levied under Section 270A for under-reporting or misreporting of income can be adjudicated independently by the Tribunal while the main quantum appeal for the same assessment year is still pending disposal before the first appellate authority.… Read More »

TDS certificates issued by a borrower create an binding admission of debt, justifying an injunction. Issue Whether a borrower, after issuing a Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) certificate acknowledging an investment, can later deny the financial liability in a money recovery suit, and whether such an acknowledgment justifies the granting of an injunction and a… Read More »

Property buyers escape 20% higher TDS if the seller later reports the transaction and pays taxes. Issue Whether an assessee who deducted TDS at 1% on a property purchase can be held liable for a higher TDS rate of 20% due to the seller’s PAN being inoperative for non-linkage with Aadhaar, if the seller subsequently… Read More »

Absence of decades-old vouchers cannot entirely defeat a capital gains deduction corroborated by sale deeds. Issue Whether an assessee’s claim for the indexed cost of construction and improvement can be rejected in its entirety solely due to the non-production of old bills and vouchers, even when the existence of the superstructure is admitted and corroborated… Read More »