Mandatory Pre-Deposit For Customs Appeal Cannot Be Waived For Financially Sound Appellant: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that the mandatory pre-deposit required to pursue a customs appeal cannot be waived for a financially sound appellant/importer. In a recently uploaded order pronounced on November 7, 2025, Justice M. Nagaprasanna said the pre-deposit under Section 129-E of the Customs Act does not deny access to justice. “It is a statutory discipline that applies uniformly to all appellants. The statute's mandate endures, subsists and is unyielding, until constitutional...

IGST | Marketing & Technical Support Services To Foreign Parent Qualify As Export Of Services, Not Intermediary: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court held that marketing and technical support services provided by the assessee to its foreign parent qualify as export of services under the IGST Act (Integrated Goods and Services Tax) and do not constitute intermediary services. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar noted that the place of supply of these services is outside India, satisfying all conditions for export of services, and the assessee is eligible for a refund of IGST paid. In the case at hand, the assessee/petitioner...

GST Refund Is Vested Right, Cannot Be Limited By Retrospective Application Of 2019 Amendment: J&K&L High Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that the 2019 amendment to the GST law changing the limitation period for claiming refund of unutilised input tax credit cannot be applied retrospectively to deny refund claims relating to periods prior to 1 February 2019.The Division Bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem while deciding a writ petition filed by Bharat Oil Traders, a partnership firm engaged in the refilling and sale of edible oil and ghee.The petitioner...

CESTAT Annual Digest 2025

Service Tax Not Payable On Commission Received From Foreign Universities For Promoting & Publicizing Business In India: CESTATCase Title: TC Global India Pvt. Ltd. v. Additional Director General, DGCEI, New DelhiCase Number: Service Tax Appeal No. 51355 of 2017The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that service tax is not payable on commission received from foreign universities for promoting and publicizing business in India.The Bench...

CBIC Extends Anti-Dumping Duty On Flexible Slabstock Polyol Imports From Saudi Arabia And UAE

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the levy of anti-dumping duty on imports of Flexible Slabstock Polyol originating in or exported from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates up to June 17, 2026, pending completion of sunset review proceedings.The subject goods, namely “Flexible Slabstock Polyol of molecular weight 3000–4000,” fall under tariff sub-heading 3907 29 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.A flexible slabstock polyol is a key...

Exporters Not Using Letters Of Credit Cannot Be Denied Rice Export Duty Exemption: Chhattisgarh High Court Directs ₹2.1 Crore Refund

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that exporters who do not carry out exports through Letters of Credit (LoCs) cannot be denied exemption from export duty on parboiled rice solely on the ground that they failed to satisfy an LoC-related condition in a temporary exemption notification.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru delivered the ruling while allowing the writ petition filed by a Ludhiana-based exporter engaged in the export of parboiled rice. The...

Custodial Interrogation Not Mandatory For GST Offences Punishable Up to 5 Years: Karnataka High Court Grants Bail In ₹31 Cr Tax Evasion Case

The Karnataka High Court held that custodial interrogation is not mandatory in GST offences punishable with imprisonment up to five years, even though such offences are economic in nature. The bench further stated that the prescribed punishment under the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Act must be considered while determining the gravity of the offence.Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar stated that one of the most prominent criminal sanctions imposed with regard to economic offences is that...

Income Tax Act | HP High Court Stays Reassessment Proceedings U/S 148 As Validity Of Notices Were Pending Before SC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed reassessment proceedings initiated against an assessee under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, noting that the validity of such notices is already under consideration before the Supreme Court. A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Romesh Verma passed the order while hearing a writ petition which had challenged a reassessment notice issued for Assessment Year 2017-18, on the ground that it was without...

Patna High Court Confirms Conviction Of Tax Assistant For Accepting ₹600 Bribe To Process Income Tax Refund

The Patna High Court has upheld the conviction of a Tax Assistant for demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹600 for processing an income tax refund, confirming the sentence imposed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The single bench of Justice Alok Kumar Pandey noted that it is crystal clear that the place of occurrence is the Income Tax Office, Sasaram, where the complainant has alleged that demand was being made and on the point of demand, the occurrence is corroborated by...

Income Tax | Delay in Filing Form 10-B Due To COVID Cannot Deny S.11 Exemption: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The 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 Devanand and A. Hari Haranadha Sarma observed that the assessee is a religious and charitable society and has to comply with the instructions issued by the Income Tax Department through their letter. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the assessee could...

Royalty Under Mining Lease Executed Before 1 April 2016 Not Taxable; CESTAT Delhi Remands Service Tax Demand Case

The New Delhi Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has remanded a service tax demand raised on mining royalty paid to the State Government, holding that where the mining lease was executed prior to 1 April 2016, the applicability of service tax must be examined in light of the negative list regime under the Finance Act, 1994 . The Bench, comprising Ms. Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) and Ms. Hemambika R. Priya (Technical Member), noted that the...

[Bihar Excise Act] Patna High Court Slashes 90% Penalty On Insurance Declared Value Of Seized Motorcycle To 10% In Liquor Case

The Patna High Court has relaxed an excessive penalty of 90% of Insurance Declared Value (IDV) to 10% on a motorcycle seized in a liquor-related offence. A Division Bench comprising Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Justice Sourendra Pandey held that, considering the quantum of liquor (18 litres), applying Rule 12A of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021, which prescribes 10% of the insured value as the minimum penalty. The police intercepted the petitioner while riding his...