VoxJuris
Home › Acts › Income-tax Act, 1961 › Chapter XIV › Section 153D

Income-tax Act, 1961 · Chapter XIV: Procedure for Assessment

Section 153D: Prior approval necessary for assessment in cases of search or requisition

The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026. The text is kept here because the judgments below apply it.

In plain words

This section requires a Joint Commissioner to approve any assessment or reassessment order passed by an officer below that rank. It applies specifically to cases involving search or requisition under section 153A or section 153B. The rule does not apply if the order already needs approval from a Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under section 144BA.

  • No assessment or reassessment order can be passed by an Assessing Officer below the rank of Joint Commissioner without prior approval.
  • The approval must come from the Joint Commissioner.
  • This requirement applies to assessment years mentioned in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 153A.
  • It also applies to the assessment year mentioned in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 153B.
  • The section does not apply if the order requires prior approval from the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under sub-section (12) of section 144BA.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

No order of assessment or reassessment shall be passed by an Assessing Officer below the rank of Joint Commissioner in respect of each assessment year referred to in clause

(b) of [sub-section (1) of section 153A] or the assessment year referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 153B, except with the prior approval of the Joint Commissioner:] [Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply where the assessment or reassessment order, as the case may be, is required to be passed by the Assessing Officer with the prior approval of the [Principal Commissioner or Commissioner] under sub-section (12)of section 144BA.]

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 153D