High Courts
Calcutta High Court Upholds ITAT Order Allowing NBFC To Set Off Share Trading Losses Against Interest Income
The Calcutta High Court has dismissed the income tax department's appeal against an ITAT order allowing an NBFC to set off losses described by the department as penny stock trades against its interest and other income. The Court held that the case raised no substantial question of law. A Division Bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Justice Uday Kumar said the department had failed to produce any direct or substantial evidence to support its case. It found that the allegation that the...
After 10 Years, Royal Jordanian Airlines Cannot Be Asked To Prove Travel Agents Paid Tax: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that Royal Jordanian airline can't be saddled with the burden of proving, after a decade, that its travel agents had discharged their tax liability.The observation was made by the division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar while dealing with proceedings relating to deduction of tax at source (TDS) under the Income Tax Act.Section 194H of the Income Tax Act, 1961, mandates TDS on commission and brokerage payments.The Court was hearing an appeal filed by...
Merely Uploading Notice On Portal Without Mobile Alert Vitiates Tax Reassessment: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on 20 January held that merely uploading income tax notices on the portal, without issuing a real-time alert to the taxpayer's registered mobile number, is insufficient to sustain reassessment proceedings under the Income Tax Act, as it violates the principles of natural justice. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai set aside the reassessment proceedings against Basu Tea Pvt. Ltd., the taxpayer and legally unsustainable. The Bench held that the it had been...
Gujarat High Court Reaffirms Mandatory Draft Order In Transfer Pricing Officer Assessments
The Gujarat High Court has held that failure to issue a draft assessment order under Section 144C in cases involving Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) adjustments renders the final assessment order void. The Court emphasised that an “eligible assessee” must be issued a draft order in terms of Section 144C, including cases with TPO adjustments, and that skipping this step deprives the assessee of the statutory right to approach the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP). A Division Bench comprising Justice...
Ten-Year Limitation Bars Reopening Assessment For AY 2015-16: Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court on 5 January held that a notice to reopen an assessment is barred by limitation if issued beyond ten years from the end of the relevant assessment year A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi was hearing a case which included four different but legally identical writ applications. It clarified that under Section 153A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the “relevant assessment year” must be computed backwards from the end of the search year....
Kingfisher Airlines Employee Cannot Be Denied TDS Credit For Employer's Default: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that an employee can't be penalised for the failure of its employer to deposit tax deducted at source (TDS) with the Revenue.The bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar was dealing with a writ petition filed by a former employee of Kingfisher Airlines, whose salary had suffered TDS deductions, but the employer failed to deposit the deducted amount with the Income Tax Department. As a result, the department denied TDS credit to the petitioner and raised a tax...
Tax Authority Must Consider 'Genuine Hardship' to Condone Filing Delays: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court has reiterated that tax authorities must exercise their power to condone a delay in filing income tax returns to address "genuine hardship" and not reject such requests mechanically. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman set aside an order of the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (PCCIT), Odisha Region, which had refused to condone the delay in filing income tax returns by The Reserve Bank Employees Co-operative...
Ease Of Doing Business Must Reflect In Tax Orders: Delhi High Court Quashes 10% TDS Certificate For Irish Entity
The Delhi High Court has criticised the Income Tax Department for adopting a revenue-driven approach while issuing tax deduction at source (TDS) certificates, holding that the government's “ease of doing business” policy must translate into fair and reasoned tax orders.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar observed,“Ease of doing business cannot be confined to slogans and Government policies; it has to percolate down in executive actions and quasi judicial orders. Passing...
Bombay High Court Grants Relief to Y-NOT Films, Disallows Income Tax Refund Adjustment Beyond 20% Of Disputed Demand
Granting relief to Y-NOT Films LLP, the Bombay High Court reiterated that the Income Tax Department could not take the entire tax refund of a later year to recover an earlier tax demand that is still under appeal. The court said that in such situations, the tax department can normally adjust only 20% of the disputed amount, unless senior tax authorities specifically approve a higher recovery. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla was hearing a petition filed...
Live Cricket Broadcast Fees Not Royalty: Delhi High Court Dismisses Revenue Appeal Against Sri Lanka Cricket
The Delhi High Court has reiterated that payments received for granting the right to live telecast international cricket matches in a specific series do not constitute “royalty” under the Income Tax Act, 1961.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar thus upheld the orders of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in favour of Sri Lanka Cricket, ruling that consideration received for providing live broadcast feeds of cricket matches cannot be taxed as royalty under Section...
