Karnataka High Court Quashes Black Money Act Assessment Against Moroccan Woman For Wrong Assessment Year

The Karnataka High Court has quashed an assessment order against a Moroccan woman under the Black Money Act after holding that the Income Tax Department had assessed her foreign assets in the wrong assessment year. The Court held that since she had acquired the assets before the Black Money Act came into force and had not made a declaration under Section 59, Section 72(c) deemed the assets to have been acquired in the year in which the first notice under Section 10 was issued. As that notice...

Income-Tax Objection Filed Next Working Day After Sunday Deadline Valid: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 24 September held that a taxpayer's objection against a draft income-tax assessment cannot be rejected as time-barred when the 30-day deadline falls on a Sunday and the objection is filed on the next working day. Justice Smita Das De was dealing with a plea by GFK Mode Private Limited, whose objection before the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) was rejected as time-barred. The last date was 15 March 2026, which was a Sunday, and the company filed its objection on 16...

“Very Dangerous Proposition”: Delhi HC On AAR View Treating Mastercard's Interface Processor In India As Permanent Establishment

The Delhi High Court on Friday orally observed that treating a network or towers as a permanent establishment (PE) of a foreign enterprise could be a “very dangerous proposition," warning that such an approach could be misused across jurisdictions.“AAR's view that towers and network itself constitute a PE is a very dangerous proposition ... it can be misused anywhere,” a Division Bench comprising Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Aditi Choudhary observed while hearing afresh Mastercard Asia...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Sets Aside PCIT Order Rejecting Delay Condonation In HMT VRS Tax Claim

The Punjab & Haryana High Court on 23 September set aside the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax's (PCIT) rejection of an HMT Limited's employee's request to condone the delay in filing a revised return to claim an additional exemption on VRS compensation.A Division Bench of Justices Deepak Sibal and Sunish Bindlish held that delay in filing a revised income tax return cannot be treated as a standalone test while considering a request for condonation under CBDT Circular No. 9/2015. The...

Must Assets Seized Under The Income Tax Act Be Automatically Released After 120 Days? Gujarat HC Refers Issue To Larger Bench

The Gujarat High Court has referred to a Larger Bench the question of whether seized assets must be mandatorily released upon completion of 120 days under Section 132B of the Income Tax Act, where an application for release is filed within 30 days.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati referred three questions concerning the interpretation of the First and Second Provisos to Section 132B(1)(i).The questions are:“(1) Whether the release of seized assets is...

Stay Period Must Be Excluded Before Testing TOLA Extension To Assessment Limitation: Madras High Court

On 23 September, the Madras High Court held that the period during which assessment proceedings remain stayed by a court must be excluded while computing the limitation period before determining whether an extension under the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA) is available. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan held that the limitation period under Section 153B of the Income Tax...

Bombay High Court Cautions Income Tax Dept. Against Routine Appeals With Mechanically Drafted Questions Of Law

The Bombay High Court has cautioned the Income Tax Department against routinely challenging Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) orders by mechanically framing substantial questions of law.A division bench of Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Gautam A. Ankhad observed,"we are constrained to observe here that this Bench has noticed that Appeals under Section 260A of the Act are filed by the Department in a routine manner whereby the suggested substantial questions of law(s) are drafted...

Bombay High Court Condones Trust's 30-Day Delay In Filing Tax Audit Form Despite Pending CBDT Plea

The Bombay High Court on 21 September condoned Vallabh Welfare Foundation's 30-day delay in filing Form 10B for Assessment Year 2020-21, despite the charitable trust having already approached the CBDT seeking condonation of the delay. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Farhan P. Dubash declined to relegate the Foundation to its pending application before the CBDT, finding that the peculiar facts warranted the High Court's intervention. The judges observed: “Though we are mindful...

Audit Objection Can't Reopen Scrutiny-Completed Assessment Without Fresh Material: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 17 September held that an assessment cannot be reopened merely on the basis of an audit objection when the underlying issue was examined during the original scrutiny and no fresh or tangible material indicates escapement of income. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati quashed the Section 148A(3) order and consequential Section 148 notice issued to Lodestone Software Services Pvt. Ltd. for Assessment Year 2022-23, finding that the...

Gujarat High Court Holds Company Entitled To Interest On ₹2.50 Crore TDS Refund

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that Maharashtra Border Check Post Network Ltd. is entitled to interest on a ₹2.50 crore refund arising from a TDS demand that was later set aside. The court held that the company's claim was covered by Section 244A(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act and could not be denied by relying on Section 244A(1B), which came into effect from April 1, 2017.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati observed that Section 244A(1)(b) already provided...

Income Tax Act | AO Can't Demand 'Negative Evidence' Of No Appeal For Immunity From Penalty: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that an Assessing Officer (AO) cannot require an assessee to furnish “negative evidence” to establish that no appeal has been filed against an assessment order while considering an application for immunity from penalty under Section 270AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta made the observation while setting aside an order passed by the AO rejecting an application filed by Petitioner seeking immunity from...

Patna High Court Grants Interim Protection To Bihar Power Co. Against ₹29.23 Crore Tax Demand

The Patna High Court on 22 September temporarily protected Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited from coercive recovery of an income tax demand of Rs. 29.23 crore. A Division Bench comprising Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Sunil Dutta Mishra directed the Assessing Officer/Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), as the case may be, to consider the company's application for interim protection within six weeks. Until then, no coercive recovery action can be taken against the company. The...