ITAT Mumbai Rules Barclays Bank's Interest From Overseas Branches Not Taxable In India

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that interest earned by the Indian branches of Barclays Bank PLC from its Head Office, overseas branches and other overseas banks is not taxable in India. It ruled that transactions between the Indian branch and its Head Office amount to payments to self and cannot give rise to taxable income under domestic tax law. A bench of Vice President Saktijit Dey and Accountant Member Prabhash Shankar observed that, while a...

ITAT Mumbai Quashes Reassessment Against Global Cricket Corporation Over Failure To Issue Mandatory Notice

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed reassessment proceedings against Global Cricket Corporation Pte. Ltd.. The tribunal did so after finding that the Income Tax Department failed to establish that it had issued the mandatory notice before completing the reassessment.Global Cricket Corporation Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based sports rights and sports event management company involved in the management and promotion of sporting events.The tribunal also held that...

ITAT Jodhpur Deletes Business Expense Disallowance For Lack Of Adverse Findings

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Jodhpur, has allowed a batch of appeals filed by four companies, holding that business expenditure cannot be disallowed merely because the tax authorities considered the assessees to have minimal business activity. The tribunal found no adverse evidence questioning the genuineness of the expenditure and held that the disallowances sustained by the first appellate authority could not be justified on mere suspicion. A bench of Judicial Member Sudhir...

ITAT Ahmedabad Allows Former BSNL Employee's Claim For Tax Exemption On VRS Compensation

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Ahmedabad Bench, has recently allowed a former BSNL employee's claim for exemption on compensation received under the BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). The tribunal held that he was entitled to the benefit under Section 10(10B) of the Income Tax Act by following earlier coordinate Bench decisions on the issue.Section 10(10B) of the Income Tax Act provides a tax exemption for eligible retrenchment compensation received by an employee, subject to...

ITAT Delhi Quashes Search Assessment Over Defective Consolidated Satisfaction Note

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed a search assessment against Sunwhite Realty Private Limited over a defective satisfaction note recorded for multiple assessment years.A bench of Judicial Member Anubhav Sharma and Accountant Member M. Balaganesh allowed the company's appeal against the assessment for the assessment year 2016–17. The assessment arose from a search conducted in the Ashish Begwani group cases. Sunwhite Realty challenged the Assessing Officer's...

Earlier Reassessment Regime Applies To Non-Searched Taxpayers In 2021-24 Searches: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that the earlier reassessment regime can apply even where the assessee was not the person searched, provided the reassessment is founded on incriminating material recovered during a search conducted within the statutory transition period. Applying that principle, the court quashed reassessment proceedings against a transporter after holding that the reopening notice had been issued beyond the applicable limitation period. A division bench of Justice A.S....

ITAT Hyderabad Quashes Penalty U/S 271DA Income Tax Act, Finds No Proof Of Section 269ST Violation

On 24 June, the Hyderabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) set aside penalties imposed on Shreemukh Realtors under Section 271DA of the Income Tax Act, holding that the Revenue failed to prove, with cogent evidence, any contravention of Section 269ST relating to alleged cash receipts exceeding Rs. 2 lakh. Vice President Vijay Pal Rao and Accountant Member Manjunatha G allowed the appeals against orders of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), which had upheld penalties for...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside ITAT Order For Failing To Decide Challenge To Faceless Assessment Procedure

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), holding that the tribunal failed to adjudicate a taxpayer's jurisdictional objection alleging non-compliance with the mandatory assessment procedure. The court ruled that the issue went to the root of the matter and required adjudication by the tribunal. A division bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe observed,"Even otherwise, on merits, the ITAT was required to consider and...

Gujarat High Court Says It Cannot Tinker With CBDT's Informant Reward Calculation Unless Patently Arbitrary

The Gujarat High Court has recently refused to interfere with the Central Board of Direct Taxes' (CBDT) decision fixing the reward payable to an informant under the 2007 Reward Guidelines. It held that the reward is an ex gratia payment and that the court cannot re-evaluate the methodology adopted by the Full Board unless its determination suffers from manifest illegality or patent arbitrariness. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed the writ...

Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment Over AO Treating Warranty Provision As Unascertained Liability

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against road construction equipment maker Ammann India Private Limited.It held that the Revenue reopened the assessment by treating the company's scientifically determined warranty provision as an unascertained liability without considering the principles laid down by the Supreme Court, the Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS), or the material already available with the Assessing Officer. A division bench of...

ITAT Hyderabad Deletes ₹3.54 Cr Addition In Online Gaming Case, Applies Section 115BB To Net Winnings

The Hyderabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 24 June held that winnings taxable under Section 115BB of the Income Tax Act must be computed on the basis of net winnings from online games and not on gross amounts reflected by gaming platforms. Vice President Vijay Pal Rao and Accountant Member Manjunatha G partly allowed the appeal filed by Emdarapu Kumaraswamy and set aside the addition made towards alleged online gaming winnings and remanded the issue relating to...

ITAT Chennai Deletes ₹1.5 Lakh Penalty On Stargate Enterprises, Holds Bona Fide Belief As Reasonable Cause

The Chennai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 26 June held that a penalty under Section 271B for failure to furnish a tax audit report cannot be sustained where the taxpayer acted under a bona fide belief that the audit requirement did not apply. Vice President George George K and Accountant Member Gagan Goyal allowed the appeal filed by Stargate Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. and deleted the penalty of Rs.1.5 lakh imposed under Section 271B for failure to furnish a tax audit report...