Telangana High Court Quashes Reassessment Against Cyberabad Citizens Over Demerged Business Income

The Telangana High Court on 7 September set aside the order dated 16 April 2024 passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act and the consequential notice under Section 148 issued to Cyberabad Citizens Health Services Pvt. Ltd. for Assessment Year 2019-20. A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda held that income already disclosed and offered to tax by the entity to which a business was demerged cannot be treated as escaped income merely because the related...

Telangana High Court Quashes Naandi Foundation Reassessment, Says 'Further In-Depth Scrutiny' Not Enough

The Telangana High Court on 7 September allowed a batch of petitions filed by Naandi Foundation challenging reassessment proceedings under the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2019-20 and set aside the order passed under Section 148A(3) and the consequential notice issued under Section 148. A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda held that the mere need for “further in-depth scrutiny” of transactions cannot constitute information suggesting escapement of...

Centre Challenges Punjab & Haryana HC Verdict Striking Down S.147A Income Tax

The Union Government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment declaring Section 147A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, unconstitutional.The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant by Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman, appearing for the Union. The ASG sought urgent listing of the Special Leave Petition, stating that the High Court ruling had created a legal vacuum concerning income tax reassessment proceedings. The Chief...

Invalid Swiss Tax Reference Can't Extend Limitation For Tax Assessment: Delhi High Court Dismisses Income Tax Dept's Appeal

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the Income Tax Department's appeal against an ITAT order quashing a search assessment for AY 2006-07 on the ground of limitation, in light of its earlier judgment in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Central-1, Delhi v. Sanjay Jain which held time limit for completing search assessments cannot be extended merely by making a reference to a foreign tax authority if the information sought is not permissible under the applicable tax treaty.The case before the...

ITAT Delhi Rejects Nil MFN Rate Under India-Netherlands DTAA Over Lack Of Specific Notification

The Delhi bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that a 1999 notification amending the India-Netherlands tax treaty only reduced the tax rate on interest from 15% to 10% and did not extend the Nil-rate exemption available under the India-USA or India-Italy treaties.The bench of Judicial Member Vikas Awasthy and Accountant Member Naveen Chandra held that the absence of a specific notification extending the exemption meant that the benefit could not be imported through the...

Deductions Under Different Income Tax Provisions Must Be Computed Independently: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 5 September held that deductions available under different provisions of the Income Tax Act must be computed independently, and the restriction against double deduction can be applied only while allowing the deductions. A Division Bench of Justices Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Praveer Bhatnagar allowed Secure Meters Ltd.'s appeal and set aside the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's finding on the computation of deductions under Sections 80-IA/80-IB and Section 80HHC for...

25-Year Pendency Cannot Allow Writ Court To Decide Disputed Facts In Tax Case: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 21 August held that the mere pendency of a tax dispute for 25 years does not permit the Court to decide disputed questions of fact in writ proceedings on the basis of pleadings and affidavits, as this would bypass the fact-finding process under the Income Tax Act. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Ashutosh Kumar declined to interfere with reassessment notices issued to Mahesh Kumar Gupta for Assessment Years 1995-96 to 1999-2000, holding that the disputed...

Andhra Pradesh High Court Quashes ₹6.23 Lakh Tax Demand Over Expired DTVSV Payment Deadline

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 24 August held that the Income Tax Department cannot require a Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme (DTVSV) declarant to meet a payment deadline that had expired before the Department issued the revised payment certificate. A Division Bench comprising Justices Ninala Jayasurya and T.C.D. Sekhar set aside a Rs. 6,23,708 demand raised against N. Venu Gopal Reddy, a works contractor, and directed the Income Tax authorities to issue the final order under the scheme....

Bombay High Court Directs Department Not To Reassess Taxpayers Challenging Income Tax Act Sec. 147A

The Bombay High Court on 2 September directed the Income Tax Department not to proceed with reassessment proceedings against taxpayers who have challenged and pressed the constitutional validity of Section 147A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, including in petitions not presently listed with the main batch of cases. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Farhan P. Dubash passed the interim order in a batch of petitions led by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The judges extended the...

'No Pressing Hurry': Delhi High Court Sets Aside Income Tax Order For Curtailing Assessee's Reply Time

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, after finding that the Assessing Officer (AO) curtailed the assessee's statutory opportunity to respond and subsequently ignored the reply that had been filed before the order was passed.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that the assessee was entitled to 30 days to file its reply, whereas the AO had practically reduced the time available to it to...

GST Authorities Cannot 'Ride Piggyback' On Adjudication Order For Income Tax Reassessment: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that Income Tax authorities cannot rely solely on a GST adjudication order while conducting reassessment proceedings, cautioning that any reassessment must independently comply with the Income Tax Act.A single judge bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, however, declined to interfere with the Section 148 notice issued to a granite and tiles business proprietor for AY 2023-24, as the proceedings were still at a preliminary stage.The court, however,...

Assessment Order Need Not Discuss Every Claim; Reopening Same Issue Is 'Change Of Opinion': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that an income tax assessment cannot be reopened where the record shows that an issue was examined during scrutiny and the assessee's claim was accepted, even if the original assessment order did not expressly discuss the issue.The bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Farhan P. Dubash observed that “it is not necessary for an Assessing Officer to discuss each and every issue elaborately to disclose his satisfaction” when accepting an assessee's claim. The...