ITAT Chennai Cancels Rs 1.5 Lakh Penalty For Delayed Audit Filing, Cites Reasonable Cause

The Chennai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 2 February deleted a penalty of Rs. 1,50,000 imposed on a jewelry export company for delayed filing of its audit report under Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. A Bench of Judicial Member Abhy T. Varkey and Accountant Member S.R. Raghunatha, observed that penalty provisions could not to be mechanically invoked and that the assessee was prevented by “reasonable cause.” They held: “Penalty provisions being quasi-criminal...

ITAT Chennai Rules Cash Deposits Can Be Set Off Against Earlier Advances, Deletes ₹20 Lakh Addition

The Chennai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 2 February deleted an addition of Rs. 20 lakh on a taxpayer out of the total Rs. 39.95 lakh made towards unexplained cash deposits and bank credits, observing that earlier bank deposits or cash advances can be set off against the said deposits.The matter was heard by Judicial Member Manu Kumar Giri and Accountant Member S.R. Raghunatha. The Bench noted that cash deposits of Rs. 20,00,000 in UCO Bank, made by Dhanabalan Selvamuthu...

Organising Ramkatha, Bhagwat Katha Not 'Wholly Religious', 80G Approval Cannot Be Denied To Charitable Trust: ITAT Ahmedabad

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal at Ahmedabad has recently held that a charitable trust cannot be denied approval under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act merely because one of its objects provides for organising Ramkatha, Bhagwat Katha, and similar programmes for raising funds. A coram of Judicial Member Sanjay Garg and Accountant Member Narendra Prasad Sinha observed that object of the trust “cannot be said to be wholly or substantially religious in nature,” and that organising Ramkatha and...

ITAT Mumbai Sets Aside ₹1.14 Crore Transfer Pricing Adjustment For Lack Of Proper FAR Analysis

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 6 January set aside a transfer pricing adjustment of Rs. 1.14 crore against Corporate Worldwide Stay LLP, after finding that the revenue authorities had proceeded on assumptions about the firm's functions and risks without a proper FAR analysis.The bench, comprising Judicial Member Anikesh Banerjee and Accountant Member Vikram Singh Yadav remitted to the assessing officer and transfer pricing officer for fresh adjudication.The...

ITAT Delhi Denies DTAA Capital Gains Benefit To Hareon Solar Singapore, Says Entity Set Up For Treaty Benefit

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal at New Delhi has denied capital gains tax exemption to Hareon Solar Singapore Pvt. Ltd. under the India–Singapore Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, holding that the company was set up solely for claiming the tax benefit. The tribunal comprising Judicial Member Raj Kumar Chauhan and Accountant Member Ramit Kochar held, “Thus, we hold that the assessee company was created for the principal purposes of taking a tax advantage under the India-Singapore DTAA,...

ITAT Amritsar Directs Fresh Verification Of Rs. 1.03 Crore Deposits By Jewellery Company During Demonetisation

The Amritsar Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) last month remanded a demonetisation-related reassessment case to the Assessing Officer for fresh verification of purchase bills, sale bills, and receipt vouchers that were not examined at the assessment stage. A Bench comprising Manoj Kumar Aggarwal, Accountant Member, and Udayan Dasgupta, Judicial Member was hearing an appeal by Chand Jewellers, a partnership firm engaged in gold jewellery business against the confirmation of an...

Mere Doubts On Cash Utilisation Insufficient For Section 69A Additions: ITAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 23 January, held that that additions under Section 69A cannot be made merely on doubts about utilisation, if the source of cash withdrawals is from disclosed bank accounts. A Bench of Judicial Member Sandeep Gosain and Accountant Member Om Prakash Kant dismissed three appeals filed by the Revenue against FA Construction (the taxpayer) and upheld the orders of the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) deleting...

ITAT Mumbai Upholds Revision Order Against Bajaj Auto For Prejudicial Assessment Order Against Revenue

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 23 January dismissed an appeal filed by Bajaj Auto Limited and upheld a revisionary order issued by the Principal Commissioner of Income-tax (PCIT) under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Narender Kumar Choudhry and Accountant Member Om Prakash Kant agreed with the PCTI that the original assessment, completed on 27 May 2022, was erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue, as the...

Tax Additions For Unsecured Loans Unsustainable Where Lender Creditworthiness Is Proven: ITAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 23 January held that additions under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act relating to unsecured loans are unsustainable where the lenders had been accepted as genuine in earlier assessment years and the transactions were supported by proper banking records. Section 68 of the Income Tax Act allows the tax authorities to treat sums credited in a taxpayer's books as unexplained income if the identity and creditworthiness of the lender and...

Following Earlier Rulings, ITAT Delhi Holds Air France Income Not Taxable Under India–France DTAA

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently held that Air France's income from technical handling services, interest on operational funds, and commission from domestic airlines was not taxable in India for the assessment years 2017–18 and 2018–19. The tribunal followed its earlier rulings and noted that there was no change in facts. The receipts were held to be covered under Article 8 of the India–France tax treaty. A coram of Judicial Member Vimal Kumar and...

ITAT Delhi Deletes ₹30.7 Lakh Tax, Accepts Marriage 'Sagan' As Source Of Demonetisation-Era Deposits

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 22 January held that cash deposits during the demonetisation period representing marriage 'sagan' (gifts from friends and relatives) cannot be treated as unexplained income while deleting an addition of Rs. 30.7 lakh made against an individual assessee. The order was passed by Vice President Mahavir Singh, in an appeal against an order of the National Faceless Appeal Centre dated 3 July 3 2025. The assessee had filed his...

ITAT Delhi Allows Hasbro SA To Submit Evidence For TDS Credit, Holds Technical Lapse Cannot Deny Claim

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that an assessee should not be penalised for a technical lapse in filing evidence and allowed Swiss-based Hasbro SA to submit additional evidence in support of its claim for TDS credit. It remanded the matter to the assessing officer for fresh consideration. A Bench comprising Accountant Member Ramit Kochar and Judicial Member Raj Kumar Chauhan passed the order in an appeal filed by Hasbro SA against the Commissioner of...