Tax
CESTAT Chennai Holds Cashew Shell Liquid Eligible For SSI Exemption, Sets Aside ₹3.22 Lakh Excise Demand
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Cashew Shell Liquid (CNSL) is eligible for Small Scale Industry (SSI) exemption under Notification No. 8/2003-CE, as amended in 2006 and read with the Corrigendum dated February 28, 2006. The tribunal set aside a Rs. 3.22 lakh excise duty demand raised on the manufacturer for allegedly wrongfully availing SSI exemption on CNSL clearances.The notification provides central excise exemption to...
Madras High Court Orders Adjudication Of GST On Royalty Paid To State, Bars Implementation Till Supreme Court Ruling
The Madras High Court has directed GST authorities to adjudicate a show cause notice proposing to levy GST on seigniorage/royalty fee payable to the Government of Tamil Nadu but ordered that implementation of the assessment order shall remain in abeyance until the Supreme Court decides the issue. Justice C. Saravanan was hearing a petition challenging Show Cause Notice dated September 29, 2025. The notice proposes to levy GST on seigniorage/royalty fee payable to the State. The court noted...
Gujarat High Court Quashes Stamp Duty Order, Says Mere Reference To Submissions Is Not Consideration
The Gujarat High Court has quashed an order directing recovery of deficit stamp duty and fine from Metalloys Recycling Ltd, holding that the authority failed to deal with the company's written submissions before passing the decision. Allowing the Special Civil Application, Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee held that the order dated May 24, 2023 passed by the Dy. Collector, Stamp Duty Valuation Department, Valsad was not in consonance with the principles of natural justice. The Court found that...
Composite GST Show Cause Notices For Multiple Financial Years Maintainable: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has recently held that a composite show cause notice issued under Sections 73 and 74 of the GST Act covering multiple financial years is legally maintainable, rejecting the contention that adjudication proceedings must be confined to a single “tax period” or financial year. A Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla ruled that the statutory scheme expressly permits the Proper Officer to issue statements for periods beyond those mentioned in the...
No Service Tax On Adda Fees Collected At Amritsar Bus Terminal: CESTAT Chandigarh
The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 3 February held that adda fees collected for the use of the Amritsar bus terminal are not liable to service tax. The Bench, comprising Mr. S. S. Garg, Member (Judicial) and Mr. P. Anjani Kumar, Member (Technical), clarified that the entire bus-terminal constructed by the Appellant could not have been built to support the business of bus operators. Bus terminals are created as a public utility service and...
CESTAT Chennai Holds Software Part Of Hardware Value, Reduces Duty Demand On Wipro
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the value of software supplied along with imported networking equipment by Wipro (Infotech Group) is includible in the assessable value of the hardware for the purpose of levying customs duty.The Bench, comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao, partly allowed the appeal by restricting the demand to the normal period of limitation, while setting aside the...
Salaries And Consultancy Reimbursements To Foreign Joint Venture Not Taxable: CESTAT Chennai
The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 5 February held that reimbursements made by an Indian company to its overseas joint venture do not constitute consideration for taxable services and are therefore not liable to service tax under the Finance Act, 1994. A Bench comprising Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue and upheld the order dropping the service tax demand against...
DEEC Licence Must Be Valid On Date Of Warehouse Clearance To Claim Customs Exemption: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India has recently reiterated that in the case of warehoused goods, customs duty liability arises on the date of actual clearance from the warehouse, and an importer cannot claim exemption under a DEEC advance licence if the licence has expired by then.Upholding the High Court's decision, a bench of Justices Manmohan and Vipul M. Pancholi ruled that entitlement to exemption must subsist on the date duty is assessed. “From the aforesaid provisions, it is evident that the...
No CST If State Tax Already Paid On Inter-State Movement Of Goods: Andhra Pradesh High Court
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 9 February held that once tax is levied and collected on goods under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act (APGST Act), no Central Sales Tax (CST) can be imposed on their inter-State movement, even if statutory declaration forms such as C-Forms or F-Forms are not furnished or are defective. A Division Bench of Justice R Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar allowed a petition challenging the CST assessment for the assessment year 2004–05, filed by Gourav...
Delhi High Court Directs Nil TDS For GoDaddy, Says Domain Registration Fees Not Taxable Under India-US DTAA
The Delhi High Court has held that domain name registration fees received by GoDaddy is not chargeable to income tax in India, in terms of the India-USA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar also criticised the Income Tax Department for refusing to grant a nil withholding tax certificate under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, despite binding judicial precedent.“We record our displeasure about the casual rather callous manner, in...