LiveLawBiz Indirect Tax Weekly Round-Up: May 18 - May 24, 2026

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Grants Bail To Future Maker Directors In Rs 54.77 Crore Service Tax Evasion CaseCase Title : RADHE SHYAM & ANR. vs ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER Case Number : Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 3559/2026 CITATION : 2026 LLBiz SC 193The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Radhey Shyam and another senior official of Future Maker Life Care Pvt Ltd in a Rs 54.77 crore service tax evasion case. The case arises from allegations that the multi-level direct...

67% Service Tax Abatement Cannot Be Denied For Omission In ST-3 Returns: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 22 May held that substantive benefit of 67% abatement under Notification No. 1/2006-ST cannot be denied merely because the taxpayer failed to claim the benefit in its ST-3 returns, particularly when the record admitted use of materials in execution of construction services. Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan set aside the service tax demand, interest and penalty imposed on Singh...

LiveLawBiz Direct Tax Weekly Round-Up: May 18 - May 24, 2026

HIGH COURTSAllahabad HCNo Rectification For Debatable Points Under Section 254(2) Of Income Tax Act: Allahabad High CourtCase Title : Abusaad Ahmad Versus The Assistant Commissioner Of Income Tax Central Circle – 1 LkoThe Allahabad High Court on 6 May held that only mistakes apparent from the record can be rectified under Section 254(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and that debatable issues fall outside its scope. A Division Bench of Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary...

Delhi High Court Quashes ₹2.30 Crore Arbitral Award Against IRCTC In Meal Tariff Dispute

The Delhi High Court has set aside an arbitral award directing Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) to pay ₹2.30 crore to Foodworld in a dispute over reimbursement for second regular meals and welcome drinks under railway catering contracts. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that the controversy was substantially covered by the Supreme Court's ruling in Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd. v. Brandavan Food Products. “The interpretation adopted by the...

Home Fiber Broadband Devices ONT, OLT Are Data Transmission Machines, Not Residual Telecom Equipment: CESTAT Delhi

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has held that Optical Network Terminals (ONT/ONU) and Optical Line Terminals (OLT) imported by GX India Pvt. Ltd. are machines used to receive and transmit data. It rejected the company's classification of ONT/ONU as “subscriber end equipment” and OLT under the residual “other” category. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao partly allowed GX India's...

Exporter Can't Be Denied CENVAT Credit Solely For Lack Of Service Tax Registration: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that service tax registration is not a pre-condition for taking CENVAT credit where a taxpayer was exclusively engaged in the export of services and not liable to pay service tax. A bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi held a plain reading of the statutory framework did not support the department's stand that such credit could be denied solely because the taxpayer...

Customs Can Rely On Additional Documents Showing Wrong Export Declarations For Reassessment: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of the CESTAT has held that Customs authorities can rely on subsequently obtained documents to revisit self-assessed export shipping bills if those documents reveal wrong declarations made at the time of export. A bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi observed: “Essentially, on the issue of whether in the case of re-assessment, the department can resort to various other information, which came to their knowledge subsequently and demand...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside Penalty Against Company As No Proof It Knew Goods Were Liable To Confiscation

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has set aside a Rs.10 lakh penalty imposed on Rathi Iron & Steel Ind. Ltd., finding no material to show that the company had dealt with goods allegedly removed without payment of duty or had knowledge or belief that they were liable to confiscation. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar held,“The appellant had not dealt with the goods that may be liable...

Importer Cannot Contest Customs Reassessment After Accepting Enhanced Value: CESTAT Delhi

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has dismissed an importer's challenge to enhancement of customs value after finding that it had accepted the revised valuation, paid duty, and cleared the goods without protest. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao distinguished the Delhi High Court's ruling in Niraj Silk Mills, where the importer had consistently protested the reassessment and sought...

Kimberly Clark's Goods Movement To Other States Was Stock Transfer, Not Inter-State Sale: CESTAT New Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has held that Kimberly Clark Lever Pvt. Ltd.'s movement of goods from Maharashtra to its depots in other States for subsequent sales amounted to stock transfers and not inter-State sales liable to Central Sales Tax. A bench of President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao observed that the agreement between Kimberly Clark and Hindustan Lever Limited was merely a broad framework or standing offer, with...

CESTAT Ahmedabad Sets Aside CVD Demand On Imports Made Under Advance Authorisation During Transitional Period

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed appeals filed by Ratnaveer Stainless Products Pvt. Ltd., its director and a customs broker. The dispute concerned Countervailing Duty (CVD) liability on imports made under Advance Authorisation between September 7, 2017 and October 12, 2017. A bench of Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh passed the order. Holding that the issue was “no more...

ITAT Ahmedabad Deletes ₹28.92 Lakh Addition, Says AO Cannot Treat Only Year-End Credit Balances As Unexplained

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has deleted a ₹28.92 lakh addition made against a taxpayer after finding that the Assessing Officer could not selectively treat only the year-end outstanding creditor balances as unexplained while accepting the rest of the same transactions as genuine. The bench of Accountant Member Annapurna Gupta and Judicial Member Suchitra Kamble observed: “The AO has not made addition of the entire credits on account of transaction carried...