Demonetisation Cash Sales Supported by Books and VAT Returns Cannot Be Treated as Unexplained Income: ITAT Delhi

The New Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that cash sales recorded during the demonetisation period cannot be treated as unexplained income merely on the basis of suspicion or human probabilities, when such sales are duly reflected in audited books of account and supported by stock records, invoices, and VAT returns.The bench consisting of Judicial Member Anubhav Sharma and Accountant Member Manish Agarwal, was dealing with an appeal filed by M/s KP Diamonds (P) Ltd.,...

Delhi ITAT Restricts Verizon Transfer Pricing Adjustment, Says Revenue Cannot Reject Consistent Model

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that the Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) could not reject a taxpayer's limited risk model without citing any comparable uncontrolled transactions and partly set aside a transfer pricing adjustment of Rs. 83.49 crore against Verizon Communications India Pvt. Ltd., restricting the adjustment to Rs. 23.81 crore. A Bench comprising Accountant Member S. Rifaur Rahman and Judicial Member Anubhav Sharma upheld the company's claim for...

Delhi High Court Calls ITAT's Indefinite Adjournment After Reserving Judgment 'Sheer Wastage Of Time'

The Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) for adjourning an appeal sine die after the matter had already been heard and reserved for judgment. For context, although Petitioner's appeal before the ITAT had been heard at length and reserved for orders on September 3, 2025, the Tribunal subsequently listed the matter again and, on January 19, 2026, adjourned it sine die. This was done on the ground that a similar issue decided by the Tribunal in another case was...

Allahabad High Court Stays Income Tax Revision, Cites No Definite Error In Reassessment Order

The Allahabad High Court has recently stayed proceedings pursuant to a show cause notice dated January 16, 2026 issued under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 against an individual taxpayer, observing that the tax authority had not formed a definite opinion that the reassessment order was erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla.The taxpayers's return had first been examined in a...

BSNL VRS Retirees Absorbed From DoT Entitled To Leave Encashment Tax Exemption: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that retired BSNL employees who were originally absorbed from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are entitled to full income-tax exemption on leave encashment under the Income Tax Act, 1961.The writ petition was filed by the Sanchar Nigam Pensioners' Welfare Association and two retired officers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, who had opted for the BSNL voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019.The grievance arose when BSNL deducted tax at source on leave...

ITAT Delhi Remands Dispute Over ₹32.13 Lakh Addition Based On Seized Excel Sheet

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has restored to the Assessing Officer a dispute in relation to the addition of Rs 32.13 lakh made against a Greater Noida taxpayer in connection with the purchase of a commercial unit. The tribunal directed that all material relied upon must be furnished to the taxpayer and cross-examination allowed if any statements are used to sustain the addition. Judicial Member C.N. Prasad noted that the addition arose from an Excel sheet seized...

Is Cane Development Council A 'Local Authority' Or An 'AOP'? Delhi ITAT Remands Nanauta Parishad's Case For Fresh Examination

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has remanded to the Assessing Officer the case of Ganna Vikas Parishad, Nanauta, holding that the authorities below had not examined the constitution and activities of the taxpayer while sustaining an addition of Rs 32,91,119 and denying its claim of exemption. Judicial Member C.N. Prasad observed that although he “could not find fault with the reasoning of the Ld. CIT(A) in sustaining the addition,” the authorities had failed to...

Delhi High Court Quashes 2005 Order Denying Additional Tax Refund Interest To Mitsui Engineering, Cites Sandvik Asia

The Delhi High Court has allowed the writ petition filed by a Japan-based maritime engineering and logistics company, seeking additional interest on a long-pending income tax refund, in light of the Supreme Court's ruling in Sandvik Asia Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar set aside a 2005 order passed by the Director of Income Tax (International Taxation), which had rejected the petitioner's application under Section 154 of the Income Tax...

Tax Exemption Cannot Be Denied For Mere Registration Of Land In Trustees' Names: ITAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 24 February, held that exemption under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act cannot be denied to Everwin Educational & Charitable Trust, merely because land acquired for construction of a school was registered in the names of its trustees. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Aby T. Varkey and Accountant Member Amitabh Shukla dismissed the Revenue's appeal for Assessment Year 2016-17 and upheld the order of the Commissioner...

Supreme Court Dismisses Revenue SLP Against Bombay HC Ruling On Tax Assessments Of Merged Reliance Entities

The Supreme Court recently declined to entertain the Income Tax Department's Special Leave Petition against a Bombay High Court judgment that had quashed assessment orders passed in the names of Reliance Polyethylene Limited and Reliance Polypropylene Limited after they had ceased to exist following their merger with Reliance Industries Limited. A bench of Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe dismissed the petition after recording that, pursuant to the High Court's ruling, the...

Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment On Income From Property Sale After Fraudulent Deeds Cancelled

The Gujarat High Court has recently quashed reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 148A of the Income Tax Act agaisnt an individual taxpayer after noting that the Assessing Officer failed to consider that two sale deeds had been cancelled on account of fraud and that the sale consideration had been reversed. Section 148A governs the procedure to be followed before reopening an assessment. A bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi recorded that the sale deeds dated...

TDS On Consultant Doctors To Be Deducted As Professional Fees, Not Salary: ITAT Delhi

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has dismissed the Revenue's appeal against Agilus Diagnostics Ltd and held that consultant doctors engaged by the company were independent professionals, not employees. Agilus Diagnostics Ltd. is engaged in the business of establishment, maintenance and management of clinical reference laboratories in India.The bench of Judicial Member Anubhav Sharma and Accountant Member Manish Agarwal concluded that supervision regarding reporting...