ITAT Ahmedabad Deletes ₹74.64 Lakh Addition After Waste Stock Discrepancy Was Adequately Explained

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) deleted a ₹74.64 lakh addition made against Shakti Polyweave Private Limited towards estimated gross profit. The tribunal held that the company had adequately explained the alleged discrepancy in wastage stock reported in its tax audit report and that rejection of its books of account was unjustified. The bench of Judicial Member Siddhartha Nautiyal and Accountant Member Annapurna Gupta partly allowed the assessee's appeals for...

'Orchestrated Attempt' To Misuse Gold Export Promotion Scheme: CESTAT Chennai Upholds Customs Act Penalties

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 8 May upheld penalties against exporters, customs brokers and a customs officer in a case involving the alleged export of gold-plated copper jewellery as “22 carat gold jewellery” to fraudulently divert duty-free imported gold under an export promotion scheme. Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao noted that the customs broker and its personnel facilitated examination of...

CESTAT Allahabad Holds Department Must Prove RMC Manufacture Before Levying Excise Duty On Concrete Mix

The Allahabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 14 May held that concrete mix manufactured and consumed at construction sites for residential projects qualifies for exemption from central excise duty and cannot be classified as “Ready Mix Concrete” (RMC) without technical evidence establishing the characteristics of RMC manufacturing. Judicial Member P.K. Choudhary and Technical Member Rajeev Tandon held that the Department failed to prove that...

CESTAT Chandigarh Holds Credit Card Cashback Incentives Not Taxable, Upholds Relief To Tek Travels

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 14 May held that cashback incentives received from banks on the use of commercial credit cards for airline ticket bookings do not constitute consideration for any taxable service under the Finance Act, 1994. Judicial Member S.S. Garg and P. Technical Member Anjani Kumar upheld the Commissioner's order dropping the service tax demand of Rs. 8.03 crore raised against Tek Travels Pvt. Ltd. on cashback...

CESTAT Ahmedabad Holds Rule 8(3A) Invalid After Indsur Global Ruling, Quashes ₹3.60 Crore Duty Demand

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 15 May held that once Rule 8(3A) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 was declared ultra vires by the Gujarat High Court in Indsur Global Ltd. v. Union of India judgment, the Department could not demand excise duty merely because the taxpayer utilised CENVAT credit during the period of default in payment of duty. Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh partly...

Landlord Cannot Recover Service Tax From Tenant Without Express Clause In Lease: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ron Thursday held that a landlord cannot recover service tax from a tenant in the absence of an express covenant in the lease deed imposing such liability on the tenant. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed an appeal filed by landlords against a decree directing refund of ₹5.53 lakh deducted from the tenant's refundable security deposit towards alleged service tax dues.The dispute arose between Sunrider India Pvt Ltd and the landlords in relation to a commercial...

Madhya Pradesh High Court Denies Bail To Tobacco Trader Accused Of ₹3.32 Crore Excise Duty Evasion

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior has recently refused bail to a tobacco trader accused of evading around ₹3.32 crore in central excise duty by allegedly concealing tobacco packing machines and illegally manufacturing tobacco products. Justice Rajesh Kumar Gupta observed that the trader's claim that one of the two machines found during the search was non-functional could not, at this stage, weaken the prosecution case. “Mere oral assertion during search proceedings that the machine was...

Madras High Court Issues Notice On Plea To Stop Telugu Dub Release of Mohanlal's Drishyam 3

Film production company Rajkumar Theatre Pvt. Ltd. has approached the Madras High Court seeking to restrain the producers and director of Malayalam movie “Drishyam 3."When the case came up before the vacation court, Justice V Lakshminarayanan admitted the plea and issued notice to the defendants. Notices have been issued to Aashirvad Cinemas (producer of the movie), director Jeethu Joseph and Panorama Studio, which has acquired the worldwide theatrical and digital rights of the movie. The...

'Left No Stone Unturned To Harass': Delhi HC On IT Dept's Delay In Releasing KVPs, IVPs

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department for delaying the release of seized Kisan Vikas Patras (KVPs) and Indira Vikas Patras (IVPs) even after the assessee deposited the settlement amount, observing that the authorities had “left no stone unturned to harass” the petitioner.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Om Prakash Shukla directed the tax authorities to compensate the petitioners for loss of interest caused due to wrongful retention of the instruments.The case...

Tax Appellate Authority Cannot Rely On New Evidence Without Letting Tax Officer Examine It: ITAT Mumbai

The Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that while taxpayers may file additional evidence at the appellate stage in appropriate cases, the appellate authority cannot rely on such fresh material without first giving the Assessing Officer an opportunity to examine it and respond. Referring to Rule 46A of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, which governs admission of additional evidence before the appellate authority, a bench of Judicial Member Anikesh Banerjee and Accountant...

ITAT Mumbai Remands Developer's Tax Dispute To Assessing Officer Over Revised Income, Project Cost Estimates

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has remanded to the Assessing Officer a tax dispute involving Lohitka Properties LLP's revised income computation for its “Montana” real estate project. The Tribunal held that the assessee's revised estimates and the Revenue's objections require detailed factual verification. A bench of Judicial Member Anikesh Banerjee and Accountant Member Om Prakash Kant observed: “Neither the approach adopted by the Assessing Officer in...

Licence Fee, Technical Assistance Charges Not Part Of Customs Value Unless Condition Of Sale: CESTAT Delhi

The Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has held that licence fees, engineering package charges, and technical assistance payments cannot be added to the assessable value of imported equipment where they are separately contracted and are not a condition of sale. A bench of Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao observed, “Law has been settled that once separate prices are provided for the supply of technical...