GSTAT Delhi Orders Ahmedabad East Infra LLP To Refund ₹1.20 Crore To Homebuyers In Anti-Profiteering Case

The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) directed Ahmedabad East Infrastructure LLP to refund ₹1.20 crore to homebuyers after finding that input tax credit (ITC) benefits under GST were not passed on, along with interest at 18 percent from the date of collection of the higher amount. The Principal Bench, comprising Technical Member A. Venu Prasad, by order dated April 2, 2026, confirmed the findings of the Directorate General of Anti-Profiteering and held the developer in violation of the...

Interest On Funds Linked To Business Setup Not Taxable As 'Other Income': Delhi HC In VNG Automotive Case

The Delhi High Court has recently held that interest earned by VNG Automotive Pvt. Ltd. on funds earmarked for setting up its manufacturing unit cannot be taxed as “income from other sources”, finding that the funds were not surplus but were directly linked to project obligations. The Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Vinod Kumar said: “We find that the funds in the present case were not lying as surplus but the same were earmarked to facilitate the balance payment for...

Actor Vijay Appeals Single-Bench Ruling Of Madras High Court Upholding ₹1.5 Crore Income Tax Penalty

Actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay has moved a Division Bench of the Madras High Court against a single-judge ruling that upheld a ₹1.5 crore income tax penalty imposed on him.The appeal, filed last month, is yet to be listed for hearing.The challenge is to a judgment by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, who had dismissed Vijay's writ petition and upheld the penalty linked to alleged undisclosed income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015–16.The single judge held that the penalty order...

AIFTA Duty Exemption For Scrap Cannot Be Denied To Jindal Aluminum For No Country of Origin Markings: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has recently granted relief to Jindal Aluminium Ltd., holding that exemption under the ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) cannot be denied merely due to the absence of country-of-origin markings on imported scrap goods.The Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar allowed the appeal filed by Jindal Aluminium Ltd. and set aside the order of the...

CESTAT New Delhi Sets Aside ₹51.8 Lakh Customs Duty On CONCOR, Finds No Proof of Pilferage Or Seal Tampering

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that, in the case of CONCOR, a custodian cannot be fastened with customs duty liability under Section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962 in the absence of evidence showing pilferage during its custody or tampering of seals of imported goods. Section 45 of the Customs Act, 1962, mandates that all imported goods unloaded in a customs area remain under the custody of an approved custodian until they are...

Gujarat High Court Seeks Affidavit From Centre Over Failure To Make ITR Utilities Available By April 1

The Gujarat High Court recently directed the Union government to file an affidavit in a writ petition filed by the Chartered Accountants Association, Surat, and others, alleging continued non-compliance with its 2015 directions on the timely availability of income tax return e-filing utilities. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi noted that despite its earlier ruling in All Gujarat Federation of Tax Consultants v. CBDT, the respondent Department had not followed...

CESTAT Chennai Allows ₹84 Lakh CENVAT Credit Claim By Komatsu India For Factory Expansion

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has ruled that Komatsu India Pvt. Ltd. was entitled to claim tax credit worth Rs 84.08 lakh on services used to expand its factory. A coram of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao noted that the company, which manufactures dump trucks, had added a new facility next to its existing plant to produce hydraulic excavators. While expanding the plant, the company took credit for taxes paid on...

Only Input Credit Used For Both Taxable and Exempt Activities Must Be Reversed: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai has held that while reversing CENVAT credit under Rule 6(3A) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, only common credit used for both taxable and exempted activities needs to be considered and not credit used exclusively for dutiable goods. The tribunal set aside the demands, interest, and penalties against Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd.Rule 6(3A) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, provides a formula-based, actionable...

Freight, Insurance Includable In Assessable Value For Excise Duty If Delivery at Buyer's Premises: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Ahmedabad Bench, has held that freight and insurance charges are includable in the assessable value for excise duty where goods are delivered at the buyer's premises and not at the factory gate, thereby upholding the demand of duty, interest, and penalty. Referring to Section 4 of the Central Excise Act, 1944, the tribunal observed, "Above provisions clearly indicate that when excisable goods are not sold at the factory gate but...

'Suspicion, Howsoever Grave, Cannot Replace Proof': CESTAT Hyderabad Sets Aside Export Undervaluation Demand

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, has held that allegations of export undervaluation and demand of differential duty cannot be sustained in the absence of cogent and admissible evidence establishing receipt of additional consideration, setting aside the order against M/s Temple City Developers Pvt. Ltd. and others. The Bench comprising Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi observed, “While there is no denial that charges of...

Mobilisation Advances Received Before 2011 Not Taxable at Receipt Stage: CESTAT Hyderabad Grants Relief To NCC Ltd

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad, has ruled that mobilisation advances received prior to the introduction of the Point of Taxation Rules, 2011, are not liable to service tax at the stage of receipt, granting partial relief to NCC Ltd.The Hyderabad Bench comprising Judicial Member Angad Prasad And Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi observed that the statutory framework prior to 1 March 2011 did not mandate payment of service tax on advances before actual...

Excise Duty Recovery During Stay On Demand Treated As 'Under Protest'; Refund Not Time-Barred: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has held that where the Department appropriates amounts during the pendency of an appeal against a Excise duty demand despite a subsisting stay order, such amounts must be treated as paid under protest, and a refund cannot be denied on the ground of limitation.The bench stated that "If the revenue is permitted to adopt such novel ways to adjust the amounts by getting over an order of stay and thereby indirectly recovering the money, it cannot be construed as a duty payable...