INCOME TAX
Gujarat HC Holds Reassessment Notice Cannot Be Challenged After Assessment Order, Directs Appeal Remedy
The Gujarat High Court on 29 June held that a reassessment notice cannot be challenged through a writ petition after reassessment proceedings have culminated in an assessment order. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed the writ petitions filed by Jitendra Shankarlal Mistri and others, holding that the petitioners could avail the statutory remedy of appeal against the reassessment orders before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The...
Madras HC Upholds Jurisdiction Of Assessing Officers To Issue Reassessment Notices Under Income Tax Act
The Madras High Court has held that Jurisdictional Assessing Officers have the authority to issue reassessment notices under Sections 148A, 148 and 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, observing that the retrospective insertion of Section 147A has clarified their jurisdiction to initiate proceedings for income escaping assessment. Justice C. Saravanan dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging reassessment proceedings initiated by Jurisdictional Assessing Officers, holding that the petitioners...
Madras High Court Holds Employer Cannot Grant Section 89 Tax Relief Without Form 10E From Employees
The Madras High Court on 24 June held that employers deducting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on voluntary retirement compensation cannot be faulted for not granting relief under Section 89 of the Income Tax Act (relief for salary received in arrears or advance) unless employees submit the prescribed Form 10E. Justice C. Saravanan allowed the writ petition filed by the Hosur Bata Employees Union in part and directed the Income Tax Department to process the income tax returns of affected employees...
ITAT Ahmedabad Holds Shell Company Allegation Alone Cannot Justify ₹44.49 Crore Section 68 Addition
The Ahmedabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 6 July held that the Income Tax Department cannot treat loans received by a company as unexplained cash credits merely on the basis of allegations that the lender companies are shell entities, when the taxpayer has furnished evidence establishing their identity, financial capacity and genuineness of the transactions. Judicial Member Sanjay Garg and Accountant Member Narendra Prasad Sinha upheld the order of the Commissioner of...
ITAT Delhi Deletes ₹15 Crore Share Premium Addition, Says AO Cannot Reject Company's DCF Valuation
The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently held that an Assessing Officer cannot reject a company's chosen Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method for valuing shares merely because its actual financial performance differs from projections. Allowing MI Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal in part, the tribunal observed, “We are therefore of the considered view that rejection of DCF method adopted by the assessee by the AO is unwarranted and against the law.” A bench of...
ITAT Delhi Deletes ₹9.16 Crore Bogus Purchase Addition Over Retrospective GST Registration Cancellation
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has upheld the deletion of a ₹9.16 crore addition over alleged bogus purchases after finding that the taxpayer had produced extensive documentary evidence to support the transactions, despite the Revenue relying, among other things, on the retrospective cancellation of the supplier's GST registration. The tribunal also noted that the Assessing Officer had accepted the corresponding sales and had not rejected the books of account...
FAR Analysis Mandatory For TP Comparables, Mere “Functional Comparability” Insufficient: ITAT Delhi
On 3 July, the Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that in transfer pricing analysis, a company cannot be included as a comparable merely on the basis of a general assertion that it is “functionally comparable”, and that a proper Functions, Assets and Risks (FAR) analysis is mandatory before inclusion. Accountant Member Ramit Kochar and Judicial Member Raj Kumar Chauhan partly allowed an appeal by A. Hartrodt India Private Limited for statistical purposes and restored...
ITAT Delhi Allows Paper Company's Appeal In Captive Power Transfer Pricing Dispute
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has allowed an appeal filed by K.R. Pulp & Papers Ltd. against transfer pricing adjustments that had denied the company a tax deduction on profits earned from transferring electricity and steam from its captive power plant to its manufacturing unit.The tribunal held that electricity generated by the company's eligible captive power unit and supplied to its non-eligible manufacturing unit should be valued at the tariff charged by the...
Interest On Unspent Government Grants Cannot Be Treated As Separate Income: ITAT Chandigarh
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently held that interest earned on unspent government grants parked in fixed deposits retains the same character as the grants themselves. It cannot be treated as an independent source of income while determining whether an educational institution is substantially financed by the government. A Chandigarh tribunal comprising Judicial Member Laliet Kumar and Accountant Member Manoj Kumar Aggarwal allowed the appeal filed by Hydro Engineering...
ITAT Delhi Quashes Reassessment Based Solely On Investigation Wing Report
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently quashed reassessment proceedings against V & S International Pvt. Ltd., a readymade garments manufacturer and exporter. It held that the Assessing Officer reopened the completed assessment solely on information received from the Investigation Wing, without independently examining the material. The tribunal observed that the absence of a "live link" between the information and the reasons recorded made the reopening...
Jharkhand High Court Upholds Conviction For False Income Tax Refund Claim Based On Forged Documents
The Jharkhand High Court has upheld the conviction of an Eastern Coalfields Limited employee for claiming an income tax refund of ₹35,875 on the basis of forged documents. The court found no reason to interfere with the concurrent findings of the trial and appellate courts. Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava dismissed the criminal revision filed by Sashi Bhusan Prasad Bhuian. The court directed him to surrender before the trial court within two months to undergo the remaining sentence. The court...
ITAT Delhi Restores ₹1.43 Crore Addition Over Alleged Cash Salary Payments
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently upheld an addition of ₹1.43 crore towards alleged unexplained cash salary payments. It held that the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) deleted the addition without carrying out any inquiry or seeking a remand report despite the material relied upon by the Assessing Officer. A bench of Judicial Member Madhumita Roy and Accountant Member Kriwant Sahay allowed the Revenue's appeal and dismissed the assessee's...