Insight Portal Screenshots Without Underlying Material Can't Sustain Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 7 September held that reassessment proceedings cannot be sustained where the Revenue relies merely on screenshots from the Insight Portal without furnishing the underlying reports and material allegedly linking the taxpayer to accommodation transactions. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati quashed the reassessment proceedings against Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd., finding that the notice issued under Section 148A(1) of the Income Tax...

Gujarat High Court Rejects Writ Plea, Finds GST Officer Was Authorised To Verify Vehicle Carrying Goods

The Gujarat High Court has rejected Shreeji Steel's writ challenge to GST confiscation proceedings after finding that the officer who physically verified its vehicle was authorised under Rule 138B of the CGST Rules.A bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati also held that the company had an alternative statutory remedy of appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act. The court observed, “Upon examination of the documents on record, we find that there is no violation of the said...

Gujarat High Court Upholds ₹23.77 Crore Income Tax Relief For Adani Infrastructure Services

The Gujarat High Court has ruled in favour of Adani Infrastructure Services Pvt. Ltd., upholding the deletion of a ₹23.77 crore income tax disallowance. The court found that the company's interest income exceeded its interest expenditure and that the borrowed funds were advanced in a back-to-back transaction.The dispute concerned a disallowance under Section 14A of the Income Tax Act read with Rule 8D(2)(ii). Section 14A deals with expenditure incurred in relation to income that does not form...

Municipal Commissioner Cannot Alter Property-Tax Categories Without State Sanction: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that a Municipal Commissioner cannot use a carpet-area cut-off to move commercial properties from one property-tax category to another without prior State Government approval.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati quashed a March 27, 2015, office order issued by the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation, which treated shops and showrooms with a carpet area of more than 35 square metres as NU-1 properties. NU-1 properties carry a...

Gujarat High Court Refuses To Quash Case Over Fake Honda Parts, Says Logo Can Be Copyrighted

On 30 September, the Gujarat High Court refused to quash a criminal case against businessman Atul Bhalerao Patil over the seizure of counterfeit Honda scooter accessories and 250 loose stickers bearing the Honda Wing Logo. Justice P. M. Raval dismissed Patil's petition after police seized duplicate Honda Activa accessories worth over Rs. 7 lakh, including goods worth Rs. 4,65,650 from his unit in Ahmedabad, along with the stickers. The Bench observed: “Where the accused is found in possession...

Changing Rent Claim To Mesne Profits Without Changing Quantum Not Patent Illegality: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 24 September held that recasting an arbitral claim from “rent” as “mesne profits” does not amount to patent illegality warranting interference with an award when the monetary liability remains unchanged. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray dismissed Indus Towers' challenge to an arbitral award directing it to pay the landowners Rs. 25,800 per month, with contractual escalation, until it handed over vacant possession, describing...

Gujarat HC Allows Plea To Condone Delay In Filing Income Tax Return Despite Pending Appeal Against Assesment

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that the rejection of a taxpayer's application seeking condonation of delay in filing an income tax return can be examined even after an assessment order has been passed and an appeal against it is pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).“We do not subscribe to the objection raised by the Revenue since it is an admitted position that the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) does not have the power in condoning the delay and the remedy invoked by...

Gujarat High Court Quashes FIR Over Cable Operators, Says Spillover Beyond Area Is Regulatory Dispute

The Gujarat High Court on 24 September quashed an FIR against cable operators accused of transmitting Zee and Turner pay channels beyond their licensed area, holding that the dispute concerned regulatory and commercial conditions rather than criminal copyright infringement. Justice P. M. Raval held that transmitting cable signals across regulatory boundaries created under administrative and telecom regulations did not, by itself, constitute a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957. The...

Must Assets Seized Under The Income Tax Act Be Automatically Released After 120 Days? Gujarat HC Refers Issue To Larger Bench

The Gujarat High Court has referred to a Larger Bench the question of whether seized assets must be mandatorily released upon completion of 120 days under Section 132B of the Income Tax Act, where an application for release is filed within 30 days.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati referred three questions concerning the interpretation of the First and Second Provisos to Section 132B(1)(i).The questions are:“(1) Whether the release of seized assets is...

Chewing Gum Not Taxable At 4% As 'Sweets And Sweetmeats': Gujarat High Court Holds 12.5% VAT Applies

The Gujarat High Court has recently ruled that chewing gum cannot be classified as “sweets and sweetmeats” under the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003. It held that the product is taxable at 12.5%, instead of the 4% rate applicable to sweets and sweetmeats.A bench comprising Justice Bhargav D. Karia and Justice Pranav Trivedi relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Commissioner of Trade Tax, U.P. v. Associated Distributors Ltd. The court also held that the tribunal was wrong in deleting the...

Audit Objection Can't Reopen Scrutiny-Completed Assessment Without Fresh Material: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 17 September held that an assessment cannot be reopened merely on the basis of an audit objection when the underlying issue was examined during the original scrutiny and no fresh or tangible material indicates escapement of income. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati quashed the Section 148A(3) order and consequential Section 148 notice issued to Lodestone Software Services Pvt. Ltd. for Assessment Year 2022-23, finding that the...

Gujarat High Court Says Casual Award Challenges Burden Courts, Imposes ₹3 Lakh Costs On Housing Board

The Gujarat High Court on 18 September held that courts can impose costs to deter casual challenges to arbitral awards, observing that frivolous applications under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 burden courts with unnecessary litigation. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray dismissed the Gujarat Housing Board's challenge to a Rs. 3.97 crore arbitral award in favour of Cube Construction Engineering Ltd. and imposed Rs. 3 lakh...