Landowner Can Claim Further Compensation Enhancement Despite Not Challenging Original Award: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that a landowner who secured enhanced compensation under an undertaking given by the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL) cannot be denied a further enhancement merely because he did not independently challenge the original land acquisition award. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua allowed the writ petition filed by Sat Dev Singh, holding that his failure to challenge Award No. 658 concerning 13 biswas of land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act,...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Income Tax Penalty For Furnishing Inaccurate Income Particulars Over Defective Notice

The Delhi High Court has held that a penalty imposed under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cannot be sustained if the notice issued to the assessee fails to specify the particular limb under which the penalty proceedings are proposed.The division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta rejected the Revenue's appeal against an ITAT order which had set aside the penalty imposed on Vitasta Estates.It noted that Section 271(1)(c) contemplates two distinct grounds for...

Personal Insolvency Moratorium Does Not Stay Cheque-Bounce Proceedings Against Directors: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that personal insolvency proceedings initiated by a company director do not require cheque-bounce proceedings against the director to be stayed where the dishonoured cheque was issued towards the company's debt. Justice N. J. Jamadar observed, “To put it in other words, the debt referred to in Section 96 must be a debt of the person by or against whom the insolvency resolution process is initiated under Sections 94 or 95, as the case may be.”The ruling concerned...

No Intra-Court Appeal Against Arbitration Execution Orders Not Otherwise Appealable: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has held that two orders passed in execution proceedings relating to an international commercial arbitration award could not be challenged through a Letters Patent appeal as they were not appealable under the statutory provisions governing such appeals.The Division Bench comprising Justice K. Lakshman and Justice B.R. Madhusudhan Rao observed:“The Act, 1996, is a self-contained code which governs all matters pertaining to arbitration, including the right to file appeals....

Delhi High Court Declines Common Adjudication Of Three Customs SCNs Despite Overlapping Evidence

The Delhi High Court has refused to order common adjudication of three show cause notices arising out of a single Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation, holding that although there was substantial overlap in the material relied upon by the Department, the notices had distinct subject matters and arose at different stages of the alleged transactions.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain also declined to entertain challenges to the customs adjudication...

Equipment Returned From Free Trade Warehousing Zone Under Fresh Contract Is 'Fresh Import', Not Re-Import: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the return of petroleum operations equipment from a Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) to the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) pursuant to a fresh contract and a subsequent Essentiality Certificate (EC) constitutes a fresh import and not a re-import.The division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain held that merely because the equipment was physically the same as that which had earlier been imported into India, it could not be treated as a re-import. “A...

Husband Cannot Claim Capital Gains Exemption For Property In Wife's Name: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 12 August held that capital gains exemption under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act cannot be claimed where a residential property is sold and the proceeds are reinvested in another residential property purchased solely in the name of the taxpayer's wife. A Division Bench of Justices Deepak Sibal and Rupinderjit Chahal dismissed an appeal filed by Subh Karan Yadav, a retired government employee, against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)...

Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment Against Adani Exports For AY 2010-11

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings against Adani Exports for AY 2010-11. It found that the Assessing Officer had relied on an unamended partnership deed while reopening the assessment, despite the assessee having specifically informed him that the deed had been amended to remove the obligation to pay interest on partners' capital.A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati held that the amended partnership deed expressly provided...

GST Authority Finding In Assessment Proceedings May Affect Criminal Case: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 11 August held that where assessment proceedings under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 end in a finding that a taxpayer has not violated the law, such finding may have a bearing on criminal prosecution arising from the same allegations, even though the two proceedings are independent. Justice Vikram D. Chauhan made the observation while granting bail to Javed Akhtar, who was accused of fraudulently availing input tax credit, noting that no proceedings...

Merely Because No Income Was Booked, Business Expenses Cannot Be Disallowed: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has recently ruled that expenses incurred on business projects cannot be disallowed merely because no income was booked against them for the relevant year. The court noted that if the Revenue's case was that no income had been booked, it had to determine whether the assessee had failed to account for that income or had not treated a particular receipt as income.“Merely because no income has been booked against the same, it would not result into disallowance of such...

No Income Tax On RFCTLARR Land Acquisition Compensation: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 7 August held that compensation paid for compulsory acquisition of land under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act) is exempt from income tax, except in cases covered by Section 46 of the Act. A Single Bench comprising Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao set aside the executing court's orders permitting deduction of tax from compensation awarded to landowners and remanded the...

Transitioned CENVAT Credit Valid For Service Tax Appeal Pre-Deposit: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on 4 August held that CENVAT credit transitioned to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime can be used to meet the mandatory pre-deposit requirement for a service tax appeal. A Division Bench of Justices S.G. Pandit and K. Manmadha Rao set aside the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) order rejecting a pre-deposit of Rs.79,77,301 made by debiting the Electronic Credit Ledger through Form GSTR-3B. The judges held: "The mandatory pre-deposit...