Litigant Cannot Blame Counsel For 968-Day Delay In Customs Appeal Without Explaining Inaction: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that a litigant cannot seek condonation of an inordinate delay by merely blaming their counsel for failing to communicate an order, especially when the litigant themselves remained inactive and made no enquiry about the outcome of the proceedings for nearly three years.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain dismissed three customs appeals challenging CESTAT 's refusal to condone a delay of approximately 968 days in filing appeals against...

Non-Manufacturer Must Deposit Excess Excise Duty Collected From Buyer: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Delhi, has held that a non-manufacturer who collects an amount representing excise duty in excess of the actual duty paid on goods must deposit the excess amount with the Central Government.A coram comprising Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao made the ruling while dismissing Vihaan Enterprises' appeal against a ₹4.00 crore demand under the Central Excise Act, 1944, along with interest.The demand was...

Supreme Court Directs No Coercive Steps Against ITC In ₹11.59-Crore CST Demand

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that no coercive steps be taken against ITC Ltd in its challenge to the Telangana High Court judgment that upheld a ₹11.59 crore commercial tax demand on its inter State stock transfers.The High Court on July 22, 2026 dismissed ITC's six writ petitions. It held that the transactions involving movement of goods from Andhra Pradesh to other States were, in substance inter State sales under Section 3(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act and therefore liable to tax.A...

Export Duty Recovery Premature Before Finalisation Of Provisional Assessment: CESTAT Chandigarh

The Chandigarh bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a ₹26.96 lakh export duty demand against S.K. Brothers. The court held that duty recovery proceedings cannot be initiated before a provisional assessment is finalised.The bench comprising Judicial Member S.S. Garg and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar found that the rice consignments were allowed to be exported on provisional assessment while samples were being tested to determine the nature of...

One-Year Limit In 2022 Notification Inapplicable To Pre-2022 Conversion Of Shipping Bills: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has ruled that the one-year time limit introduced in 2022 for converting Free Shipping Bills into EPCG Shipping Bills cannot be applied to exports made before the rule came into force.The bench of Judicial Member R. Muralidhar and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan held that the time limit under the 2022 notofication has no retrospective effect. “Therefore, the time limit given therein cannot be applied for the...

Notification Prescribing Time Limit For Post-Export Shipping Bill Conversion Cannot Apply Retrospectively: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Ahmedabad has held that a 2022 notification prescribing a time limit for post-export conversion of Shipping Bills cannot be applied retrospectively to exports made before it came into force.A coram comprising Judicial Member Somesh Arora and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh ruled that the notification had no application to Metalloys Recycling Ltd.'s exports made between October 2019 and January 2022.The tribunal observed,...

Delhi High Court To Decide Constitutional Validity Of Cess On Pan Masala Manufacturers

The Delhi High Court is set to examine the constitutional validity of the levy of compensation cess on pan masala manufacturers under the Health Security se National Security Cess Act, 2025.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain has listed for final disposal two petitions filed by Dharampal Satyapal Ltd. and the Smokeless Tobacco Association challenging the levy of compensation cess on pan masala and its constitutional validity. The matters will be heard on September...

Madras High Court Directs Provisional Release Of 119 Machines, Rejects Retrospective Customs Rule

The Madras High Court on 3 August held that a Customs notification that came into force after the shipment of imported goods could not be applied retrospectively to deny provisional release of the goods. Justice Hemant Chandangoudar directed the Customs authorities to consider the request of S.P. Associates, represented by its proprietor Yogendra Pratap, for provisional release of 119 used digital multifunction printing, copying and scanning machines imported under a Bill of Entry dated 17 July...

GST Officers Cannot Keep Tax Consultant's Office Sealed After Search Ends: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on 10 August held that GST authorities cannot keep business premises sealed after completing a search when the owner had not denied them access. Justice Devashis Baruah directed the Assam GST Department to de-seal the office of Sri Surendra Sharma, a tax consultant operating under the name Sharma and Associates in Bokajan, Assam. The Bench held: “...the goods mentioned in the Annexure to the Order of Prohibition in FORM GST INS-03 can under no circumstances be said to be...

Madras High Court Quashes Geeco Enercon Reassessment, Says New Regime Cannot Revive Limitation

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has held that the Income Tax Department cannot initiate reassessment proceedings under the new reassessment regime after the limitation period under the old regime has expired, and quashed the reassessment proceedings against Geeco Enercon Private Limited for Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16. Justice C. Saravanan held that the proceedings the Income Tax Department initiated in August 2024 were barred by limitation and quashed the order dated 31 August 2024...

Burden Shifts To Revenue Once Taxpayer Proves Creditworthiness And Genuineness: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court on 22 July held that once a taxpayer establishes the identity, creditworthiness and genuineness of credits through sufficient documentary evidence, the burden shifts to the Assessing Officer to disprove the material with independent and cogent evidence, and deleted income tax additions totalling Rs. 5.58 crore against Agarwal Industries Pvt. Ltd. A Division Bench comprising Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda allowed the company's appeal and set aside the...

Income Tax Dept Cannot Reopen Time-Barred Assessment Through Amended Reassessment Provisions: ITAT Visakhapatnam

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Visakhapatnam has recently quashed reassessment proceedings against an assessee after holding that the Income Tax Department could not use the amended reassessment provisions to reopen a matter after the statutory time limit for assessment had already expired. The bench of Vice President Vijay Pal Rao and Accountant Member Manjunatha G observed, “Since the assessment u/s 153A already attained finality by expiry of limitation u/s 153B of the Act, the...