CUSTOM&EXCISE&SERVICE TAX
Mere Stock Shortage Not Proof Of Clandestine Removal: CESTAT Allahabad
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Allahabad has held that a shortage of goods found during a departmental inspection cannot, by itself, justify allegations of clandestine removal. The final outcome came after a split verdict was resolved by a third member, S.S. Garg, who agreed that stock shortages alone cannot be treated as proof of illegal clearances. Garg underlined that “mere shortage of goods does not lead to the conclusion that the goods have been removed...
Crop Compensation Paid To Farmers For Transmission Lines Passing Their Land Not Taxable: CESTAT Ahmedabad
The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that crop compensation charges paid to farmers for laying electricity transmission lines are not liable to service tax. A coram of Judicial Member Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh said these payments are compensatory in nature and not consideration for any service. The tribunal held that developing and maintaining a transmission network is a statutory duty of a...
GST Authorities Cannot Pass Orders Against Deceased Taxpayer, Recover From Heirs: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that while GST law allows proceedings to be pursued against a legal heir after the death of a taxpayer, authorities cannot determine tax liability in the name of a deceased person and then recover it from the heir. The court ruled that Section 93 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, permits recovery from legal representatives only after a valid determination against them, and not through orders passed against a dead assessee. A bench of Justice Shekhar B...
Delhi High Court Gives Customs One Last Chance Over ₹5,000 Costs In Touch Screen Tariff Case
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (January 6) gave the Customs Department one last chance to clear objections to its plea seeking recall of Rs 5 thousand in costs imposed for not filing replies in a batch of petitions challenging a customs duty hike on Interactive Flat Panel Displays.The court warned that if the objections are not removed within a week, the recall application will stand rejected automatically.A division bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul noted that the...
CBIC Extends Anti-Dumping Duty On Normal Butanol Imports Till July 12, 2026
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday extended the Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) on imports of normal butanol, or N-butyl alcohol, up to 12th July 2026. Normal Butanol is a widely used industrial alcohol and chemical intermediate.The anti-dumping duty was originally imposed on imports of Normal Butanol or N-Butyl Alcohol originating in or exported from the European Union, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States of America by way of a dated April 12,...
No Statutory Mechanism To Revise GST Return For ITC: HP High Court Allows Manual Filing Of Monthly Return
In the absence of any statutory mechanism under the GST law to revise or correct GSTR-3B, the monthly GST return used to declare tax liability and claim Input Tax Credit, a taxpayer cannot be left without a remedy for a bona fide mistake, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has held. A division bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Romesh Verma allowed a registered taxpayer to file the GSTR-3B return manually for the quarter ending March 2021 so that its unclaimed Input Tax Credit (ITC) could be...
Can Customs Reopen Decade-Old Duty Drawback Claims? Delhi High Court To Examine
In March, the Delhi High Court is set to examine whether customs authorities can revive decade-old export transactions through belated show cause notices (SCNs) without running afoul of the doctrine of delay and laches.On December 9, 2025, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain heard a batch of petitions concerning the validity of SCNs issued in relation to the availment of duty drawback. The issue arose from the issuance of SCNs to the...
Can Service Tax Be Levied On Transfer of Development Rights? Delhi High Court To Decide
The Delhi High Court on Monday took up a Revenue appeal that squarely raises the question of whether the transfer of development rights constitutes a taxable service under the Finance Act, 1994. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul issued notice in an appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against an order of the Delhi Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), which had quashed a service tax demand of nearly Rs 5 crore raised on a real estate...
Bihar Excise Act | Patna High Court Reduces Penalty From 50% To 30% For Release Of Rental Car Seized With Liquor
The Patna High Court has slashed a 50 percent penalty imposed for releasing a rental car seized with nearly 318 litres of liquor. It ordered that the vehicle be released on payment of 30 percent of its insured value and struck down an additional 3 per cent charge as illegal. A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Sourendra Pandey noted that the vehicle owner was not an accused in the case and said the confiscation orders needed correction. The court observed, “This Court...
Customs Cannot Withhold Part Of Consignment After Accepting Full Bond, Guarantee : CESTAT Kolkata
The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal recently held that Customs authorities were not justified in continuing to detain part of a consignment of used digital multifunction print and copying machines once the importers had furnished the required bond and bank guaranteef for the entire consignment. A coram consisting of Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K Anpazhakan directed provisional release of 63 machines that had been withheld, noting...
Mere Apprehension of Business Loss In State Does Not Confer Writ Court Territorial Jurisdiction: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a petitioner's mere apprehension of business loss in West Bengal is not enough to invoke the court's territorial jurisdiction in a writ petition. A single-judge bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai, while dismissing a plea filed by a Kuwait company said that it is the infringement of a legal right that gives rise to a cause of action."The lis before this Court is only with regard to the violation of the petitioner's right to fair treatment and fair...