INCOME TAX
Income Tax Act | Refund Can't Be Withheld U/S 245 Unless Department Establishes Tax Liability: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court stated that the Income Tax Department cannot withhold a refund under Section 245 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, unless it establishes tax liability. The Bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury observed that it is true that Section 245 of the said Act authorises the Income Tax Department to set off a refund against remaining tax payable. Unfortunately, in this case, the respondent has not been able to demonstrate that any amount is payable or is due from the...
Punjab & Haryana High Court Directs CBDT To Issue Circular Extending ITR Due Date For Audit Cases To 30.11.2025 For A.Y. 2025-26
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) to issue a circular extending the ITR (Income Tax Return) due date for audit cases to 30.11.2025 for the Assessment Year 2025-2026. Justices Lisa Gill and Meenakshi I. Mehta were addressing a petition filed by the assessee/petitioner seeking a direction to the Central Board of Direct Taxes to extend the due date for filing of tax audit reports for a reasonable period from 30.09.2025 and,...
Income Tax Act | Mechanical 'Rubber-Stamp' Approval U/S 153D Vitiates Entire Search Assessment: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that prior approval under Section 153D of the Income Tax Act is not a mere technical or procedural formality, and that mechanical, en masse sanction without application of mind vitiates the entire assessment under Section 153A. A Division Bench of Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Advait M. Sethna, while deciding a batch of over 60 Income Tax Appeals filed by the Revenue led by Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax Central 4, dismissed the appeals at the admission...
Income Tax Act | SBI Not 'Assessee In Default' U/S 201 For Not Deducting TDS While Obeying Court's Interim Order: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that the State Bank of India (SBI) cannot be treated as an 'assessee in default' under Section 201 of the Income Tax Act for not deducting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on Leave Travel Concession (LTC) payments, as it was bound by an interim order which prohibited such deduction. Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon examined whether the SBI, having been restrained by an interim order of the High Court from deducting TDS, could be held to be...
'Frivolous Cases Waste Judicial Time' : Supreme Court Raps Income Tax Dept For Filing SLP On Settled Issue
The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up the Income Tax Department for filing yet another Special Leave Petition (SLP) in a matter already settled by the Court, calling it a frivolous exercise that contributes to mounting pendency.A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan was hearing an SLP challenging a Karnataka High Court order on tax deduction at source (TDS) liability, an issue the Supreme Court had already decided last year in a case involving Vodafone Idea, holding that...
Delhi High Court Refuses To Condone 9-Month Delay By Assessee In Filing Revised Income Tax Return
The Delhi High Court has refused to condone a delay of 9-months by an assessee in filing his revised income tax return (ITR).A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar remarked,“Surely it should not take nine months to realize that initial ITR has some mistakes, which requires a revised return.”The Court was dealing with a plea against rejection of Petitioner's application under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 seeking condonation of delay of nine months in filing...
CBI Arrests Jaipur Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's Judicial Member For Indulging In 'Corrupt Practices'
The CBI has arrested a lawyer as well as a judicial member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices. As per the agency's post on X, the agency has busted a "criminal network" stated to involve an advocate as well as a judicial member of ITAT, Jaipur, an assistant registrar of the tribunal, and other unknown public servants and private persons for "indulging in corrupt practices" in connection with "settling appeals in ITAT bench, Jaipur" in...
'Estimation Theory Doesn't Apply To Sham Purchases': ITAT Mumbai Restores Full Disallowance Of ₹26.49 Lakh
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai has held that where purchases are conclusively proven to be bogus and the assessee fails to substantiate the genuineness of suppliers, the entire purchase amount must be added to income and the benefit of estimating profit element cannot be applied. A Bench of Smt. Beena Pillai (Judicial Member) and Shri Omkareshwar Chidara (Accountant Member) was hearing a Revenue appeal against the order of the CIT(A) which had restricted disallowance of...
IT Act | Reassessment Cannot Be Used To Review Assessment When All Documents Were Earlier Disclosed: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that reassessment proceedings under Sections 148 & 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be initiated to re-open issues that were already scrutinized and accepted during the original assessment, observing that a mere change of mind on the part of the Assessing Officer does not constitute reason to believe nor permit reassessment. A Division Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Amit S. Jamsandekar, while deciding a writ petition filed by the...
'Seems Tax Department Has Not Trusted Even Its Lawyers' : Supreme Court Flags Procedural Delays In IT Dept's Petition Filings
The Supreme Court recently criticised the Income Tax Department for filing its Special Leave Petition after a delay of 524 days, observing that the Department, despite having an entire team of legal experts, failed to act on its own lawyers' advice and instead allowed time to be wasted in unnecessary and prolonged litigation. A bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B. Varale expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Department's explanation for the massive delay, noting that "no...
Income Tax Act | Reassessment Against Entity Converted Into LLP Is Void: Bombay High Court Sets Aside S.148 Notice Issued To Defunct Company
The Bombay High Court has set aside a reassessment notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 against a company that had ceased to exist due to conversion into a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), holding that reopening of assessment against a non-existent entity is “illegal and bad-in-law”. A Division Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Amit S. Jamsandekar was hearing a writ petition filed by Erangal Comtrade and Consultancy LLP (successor of Erangal...
NFAC Doesn't Take Away Jurisdictional Assessing Officer's Power To Initiate Reassessment U/S 148 Income Tax Act: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) and Faceless Assessing Officer (FAO) have jurisdiction to issue reassessment notices under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The position has been in dispute since introduction of the E-Assessment of Income Escaping Assessment Scheme, 2022, which led to the setting up of the National Faceless Assessment Centre with Faceless Assessing Officers.Petitioner-assessee argued that now, FAO alone has jurisdiction to...