Amendments To Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Rules Mandate Digital Signatures For Filing Appeals

The Ministry of Law and Justice has recently notified changes to the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963, making the use of digital signatures compulsory for filing appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The changes have been brought in through the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Amendment Rules, 2025. Under the amended rules, appeals must now be filed electronically. Rule 6 has been substituted to state that a memorandum of appeal shall be filed by the appellant or...

ITAT Mumbai Sets Aside ₹2.28-Crore Capital Gains Tax on Housing Society For Developer Payments To Members

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed a Rs 2.28 crore capital gains tax addition against Colombia Co-operative Housing Society, holding that redevelopment compensation paid directly to individual members cannot be taxed as the society's income.The ITAT held that amount paid by a developer directly to individual members of a co-operative housing society pursuant to redevelopment cannot be taxed as capital gains in the hands of the society, particularly when the...

HSNS Cess Rules Notified: Pan Masala Makers to Pay Levy Based on Installed Machines From Feb 1

The Ministry of Finance has notified the Health Security & National Security (HSNS) Cess Rules, 2026, on January 1, setting out the procedure for levying a new cess on machines installed and processes undertaken for the manufacture of pan masala. The cess will come into force on February 1, 2026, and the collections will be used to fund national security and public health expenditure. All existing pan masala manufacturers using such machines are required to register immediately once the...

Indirect Tax Weekly Round-Up: December 29, 2025 - January 04, 2026

HIGH COURTSAndhra Pradesh HCAPVAT | Value Added Tax Not Leviable On Offshore Sales Beyond Territorial Waters: Andhra Pradesh High CourtCase Title: M/s Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. The Commercial Tax OfficerCase Number: WRIT PETITION Nos.6319 & 6321 & 5089 of 2010The Andhra Pradesh High Court held that Value Added Tax (VAT) under the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act (AP VAT) cannot be levied on sales beyond 12 nautical miles, as such transactions fall outside the State's...

Direct Tax Weekly Round-Up: December 29, 2025 - January 04, 2026

HIGH COURTSAndhra Pradesh HCIncome Tax | Delay in Filing Form 10-B Due To COVID Cannot Deny S.11 Exemption: Andhra Pradesh High CourtCase Title: M/s Amnos Evangelical v. The Centralized Processing Centre, BengaluruCase Number: WRIT PETITION NO: 8798 OF 2025The Andhra Pradesh High Court held that the exemption under Section 11 of the Income Tax Act cannot be denied merely on account of delay in filing the Form 10-B Audit Report when such delay was caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.Justices Battu...

Madras High Court Sets Aside GST Demand For Not Considering CBIC Circulars Cited By Taxpayer

The Madras High Court has set aside a GST demand on a corporate guarantee after finding that the tax department failed to consider CBIC circulars relied upon by the taxpayer while raising the assessment.Allowing the writ petition, Justice G R Swaminathan held that an assessment order cannot survive if the tax department fails to consider the defence raised by the taxpayer. The court held, “When a defense raised by the noticee is not considered in the final order, the order is vulnerable on...

All India Direct Tax Digest 2025

SUPREME COURTMotor Accident Claims - Tax Returns Can Be Accepted To Determine Income Only If They Are Appropriately Produced : Supreme CourtCase name: New India Assurance Co. Ltd. V. Sonigra Juhi Uttamchand.Case no.: SLP (C) No. 30491 of 2018The Supreme Court, recently (on January 02), while deciding a motor accident compensation claim case, observed that monthly income could be fixed after taking into account the tax returns. However, the details of tax payment must be properly brought into...

All India Indirect Tax Digest 2025

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Sets Aside Excise Duty Demand On Oil Marketing Companies For Inter-Supply Of Petroleum ProductsCase Title: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. versus Commissioner of Central Excise Nashik Commissionerate (and connected matters)Case no.: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5642 OF 2009In a significant relief for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), the Supreme Court ruled (Jan. 20) that prices under the MoU for inter-supply of petroleum products, designed to ensure smooth nationwide...

Hotels Can Now File Specified Premises Opt-In Online On GST Portal: GSTN

The Goods and Services Tax Network has enabled online filing of opt-in declarations for hotel accommodation service providers to declare their properties as “specified premises” on the GST Portal. This shifts the process from manual filing before jurisdictional officers to an electronic system on the portal. The facility follows Notification No. 05/2025 Central Tax (Rate) and is available from January 1, 2026. “Specified premises” is a classification used to determine the GST treatment of...

Customs Cannot Withhold Part Of Consignment After Accepting Full Bond, Guarantee : CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal recently held that Customs authorities were not justified in continuing to detain part of a consignment of used digital multifunction print and copying machines once the importers had furnished the required bond and bank guaranteef for the entire consignment. A coram consisting of Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K Anpazhakan directed provisional release of 63 machines that had been withheld, noting...

Mere Apprehension of Business Loss In State Does Not Confer Writ Court Territorial Jurisdiction: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a petitioner's mere apprehension of business loss in West Bengal is not enough to invoke the court's territorial jurisdiction in a writ petition. A single-judge bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai, while dismissing a plea filed by a Kuwait company said that it is the infringement of a legal right that gives rise to a cause of action."The lis before this Court is only with regard to the violation of the petitioner's right to fair treatment and fair...

ITAT Annual Digest 2025

Transactions Between Holding & Subsidiary For Issuance Of Shares Not Covered U/S 56(2)(viib) Of IT Act: Delhi ITAT Quashes Revision Against OYOCase Title: OYO Hotels vs Principal CITCase Number: ITA No.2611/Del/2024The Delhi ITAT held that the transactions between holding and its wholly owned subsidiary entity towards issuance of shares are not covered within ambit of Sec 56(2)(viib) in absence of any benefit arising from such transactions.Referring to the Coordinate Benchs, the Bench of...