SUPREME COURT
Case Title : THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CIRCLE 1(1)(1) Vs ADANI WILMAR LIMITED
Case Number : SLP(C) 4944/2026
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz SC 35
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Gujarat High Court judgment that had quashed the reopening of Adani Wilmar Limited's income tax assessment for the 2013–14 assessment year, dismissing a special leave petition filed by the revenue. A Bench of Justice B. V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said it was not inclined to step in after examining the record. “Having regard to the facts of this case, we are not inclined to interfere in the matter. The SLP is dismissed. The question of law, if any, shall be kept open,” the bench said.
Case Title : The Income Tax Officer & Ors. v. Man Mohan Agarwal HUF
Case Number : Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 4270/2026
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz SC 38
The Supreme Court has dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Income Tax Department against a common Telangana High Court judgment setting aside reassessment notices issued against several taxpayers as time-barred. The plea challenged a common judgment of the Telangana High Court, which endorsed the Delhi High Court's view that mere generation or signing of a reassessment notice does not amount to issuance and that a notice is issued only when it is dispatched.
HIGH COURTS
Calcutta HC
Case Title : Principal Commissioner of Income Tax v. M/s Express Tradelink Pvt. Ltd.
Case Number : ITAT 95 OF 2025
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (CAL) 41
The Calcutta High Court on 4 February held that in share capital assessments, income tax additions cannot be sustained on mere suspicion, when the investors are identifiable, the taxpayers and share subscriptions are backed by audited records, and clear there are clear banking trails for transactions. A Division Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar dismissed an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Kolkata, against Express Tradelink Pvt. Ltd. (taxpayer) for the Assessment Year 2009-10.
Delhi HC
Case Title : International Buddhist Confederation v. ITO
Case Number : ITA 18/2026
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 117
The Delhi High Court has granted tax exemption to the International Buddhist Confederation, a Non-Governmental Organisation holding that tax authorities can't deny statutory benefits merely because of an inadvertent disclosure error made in the income tax return. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar also criticised the Revenue for taking advantage of the assessee's ignorance of his rights while passing the scrutiny assessment.
Delhi High Court Cuts TDS To 0.5% for UK Company Travelport, Sets Aside 1.6% Certificate
Case Title : Travelport International Operations Limited v. Deputy Commissioner Of Income-Tax Circle Int. Tax 3(1)(1), Delhi & Ors.
Case Number : W.P.(C) 7633/2025
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (DEL) 118
The Delhi High Court has granted partial relief to UK-based travel technology company Travelport International Operations Limited by setting aside a tax withholding certificate that required deduction of tax at 1.6%. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar directed the tax authorities to issue a fresh certificate providing deduction of tax at a reduced rate of 0.5%.
Karnataka HC
Case Title : Bhoruka Steel and Services Ltd. v. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax
Case Number : WRIT PETITION NO. 17592 OF 2022
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (KAR) 13
The Karnataka High Court has recently held that reassessment proceedings initiated after the expiry of the statutorily surviving period of limitation under the Income Tax Act are invalid. This remains so even where the revenue seeks to sustain the reassessment notice on the basis of the Supreme Court's directions in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal.
Tax Authority Cannot Deny Interest Waiver Through A Cryptic Order: Karnataka High Court
Case Title : M/s Kanhaiyalal Dudheria v. The Chief Commissioner
Case Number : WRIT PETITION NO. 104240 OF 2025
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (KAR) 17
The Karnataka High Court recently held that a tax authority cannot deny a taxpayer's request for interest waiver through a cryptic order. It must pass a reasoned, speaking order after objectively examining whether the income could have been anticipated at the relevant time. A Bench of Justice K.S. Hemalekha, partly allowed a writ petition filed by Kanhaiyalal Dudheria (petitioner) and partially set aside an order of the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, that allowed waiver of the second and third advance tax instalments.
Madras HC
Transfer Pricing Reference During Extended Reassessment Period Invalid: Madras High Court
Case Title : Eaton Power Quality Private Limited v. The Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax
Case Number : W.P.No.15393 of 2022
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC (MAD) 38
The Madras High Court held that a reference to the Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) made during the extended period available for completion of reassessment is invalid, rendering the proceedings time-barred. Justice C. Saravanan delivered the judgment while allowing a writ petition filed by Eaton Power Quality Private Limited which challenged the order passed by the TPO under Section 92CA(3) of the Income Tax Act by which the arm's length price of corporate service fees was determined at nil and a downward adjustment was proposed.
Case Title : C Joseph Vijay v. The Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax and others
Case Number : WP No. 21006 of 2022
The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by actor-turned-politician Vijay challenging a Rs 1.5 crore penalty imposed on him by the Income Tax Department in connection with alleged undisclosed income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015–16. The judgment was pronounced by a single judge, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, after reserving the same on January 23, 2026.
Orissa HC
Orissa High Court Grants Interim Relief to Taxpayer Against Non-Faceless IT Reassessment
Case Title : Bibekananda Parida v. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Others
Case Number : WP(C) No.22306 of 2025
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz HC(ORI) 9
The Orissa High Court on 2 February restrained the Income Tax Department from proceeding further on a reassessment notice issued to a Bhubaneswar-based taxpayer, after finding that the notice was not issued in accordance with the mandatory faceless procedure prescribed under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M.S. Raman was hearing a writ petition filed by Bibekananda Parida, challenging an order passed under Section 148A of the Income Tax Act along with a reassessment notice issued under Section 148.
ITAT
Case Title : Chand Jewellers v. ITO
Case Number : I.T.A. No. 574/Asr/2025
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz ITAT(AMR)23
The Amritsar Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) last month remanded a demonetisation-related reassessment case to the Assessing Officer for fresh verification of purchase bills, sale bills, and receipt vouchers that were not examined at the assessment stage. A Bench comprising Manoj Kumar Aggarwal, Accountant Member, and Udayan Dasgupta, Judicial Member was hearing an appeal by Chand Jewellers, a partnership firm engaged in gold jewellery business against the confirmation of an addition of Rs. 1.03 crore as "unexplained cash deposits" during the demonetisation period.
Case Title : Hareon Solar Singapore Pvt. Ltd Vs DCIT
Case Number : ITA No.2226/Del/2024
CITATION : 2026 LLBiz ITAT(DEL) 24
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal at New Delhi has denied capital gains tax exemption to Hareon Solar Singapore Pvt. Ltd. under the India–Singapore Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, holding that the company was set up solely for claiming the tax benefit. The tribunal comprising Judicial Member Raj Kumar Chauhan and Accountant Member Ramit Kochar held, “Thus, we hold that the assessee company was created for the principal purposes of taking a tax advantage under the India-Singapore DTAA, while otherwise there is no economic substance or commercial justification for routing investment through assessee company based at Singapore. Thus, in the instant case, LOB clause 1 of Article 24A of India-Singapore DTAA is attracted.”
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
CBDT Issues Draft Income Tax Rules And Forms For New Act With 34% Fewer Rules
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has released the draft Income Tax Rules, 2026 along with the draft forms, in connection with the Income Tax Act, 2025, which is scheduled to come into force from April 1, 2026. The draft rules and forms have been placed in the public domain to invite comments and suggestions from stakeholders and the general public. As per the CBDT, the draft Income Tax Rules, 2026 will remain open for public feedback for a period of 15 days, up to February 22, 2026.