Outdoor Playground Equipment Attracts 5% GST, Gym Equipment 18%: Gujarat AAR

On 29 September, the Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) held that outdoor playground equipment and outdoor gym equipment are classifiable under Heading 9506, with their spare parts generally following the classification of the equipment, while bearings are separately classifiable under Heading 8482. A Bench comprising SGST Member Sushma Vora and CGST Member Vishal Malani passed the ruling on an application by Sundek Sports Pvt. Ltd. It also held that outdoor playground equipment and its...

Taxpayer Can Seek GST Refund Even If Not Party To Case Striking Down Levy: GSTAT Surat

The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), at Surat, has held that a taxpayer can claim a refund of tax paid under a levy subsequently declared unconstitutional, even if the taxpayer was not a party to the proceedings in which the levy was struck down. “Therefore, a taxpayer may claim refund of tax collected under a levy subsequently declared ultra vires or unconstitutional in a judgment even if he was not a party to such judgment,” the tribunal held. The ruling came in 46...

Wrongful ITC Availment Alone Cannot Justify Tax Evasion Proceedings: Kolkata GSTAT

The Kolkata Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has held that invocation of Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 requires material establishing deliberate suppression, fraud or wilful misstatement with an intent to evade tax, and cannot rest merely on an allegation of wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC). A Two Member Bench comprising Judicial Member S.G. Chattopadhyay and Technical Member Bijoy Kumar Kar partly allowed the Revenue's...

Customer Referral Services Without Technical Know-How Not FTS Under India-Netherlands DTAA: Delhi ITAT

The Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on 30 September held that commission earned for referring potential customers does not qualify as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) under Article 12(5)(b) of the India-Netherlands DTAA where the referral activity does not involve making technical knowledge, skill or know-how available to the Indian entity. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Vikas Awasthy and Accountant Member Naveen Chandra allowed Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.'s appeal for...

Madras High Court Says Precision Instruments Used In Manufacturing Eligible For 3% Sales Tax Rate

The Madras High Court has held that precision instruments such as Vernier Calipers, Depth Gauges and Cylinder Gauges used by manufacturers in Tamil Nadu qualify for a 3% concessional tax rate when sold against Form XVII declarations, even though the instruments are not consumed in the manufacturing processA Division Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice E. Manoharan observed that the benefit under Section 3(3) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 extends to “any goods” used in...

Gujarat HC Allows Plea To Condone Delay In Filing Income Tax Return Despite Pending Appeal Against Assesment

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that the rejection of a taxpayer's application seeking condonation of delay in filing an income tax return can be examined even after an assessment order has been passed and an appeal against it is pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).“We do not subscribe to the objection raised by the Revenue since it is an admitted position that the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) does not have the power in condoning the delay and the remedy invoked by...

'Really Troubling': Delhi High Court Orders Opening Of Taxpayer's Locker Seized For Over 30 Years

The Delhi High Court has directed the Income Tax Department to open a taxpayer's locker, which has remained seized for more than 30 years, observing that continued seizure of the locker serves no purpose after the tax dispute had already been finalised by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT).The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary was hearing a petition filed by Devi Dayal Aggarwal, who approached the Court alleging that the Assessing Officer had failed to pass an...

Can Presumption That Seized Goods Are Smuggled Apply To 'Mastermind' Not In Physical Possession? Delhi HC To Examine

The Delhi High Court is set to examine whether the statutory presumption under Section 123 of the Customs Act can apply to a person alleged to be the “mastermind” or financier who is not in physical possession of the seized goods.The Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Shail Jain has framed the question while hearing appeals filed by the Principal Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) against CESTAT orders.Section 123 of the Customs Act provides for a statutory shift in the burden of...

Delhi High Court Remits VAT Assessment, Directs Fresh Consideration Of Tax Paid On Subsequent Sales

The Delhi High Court has set aside a VAT assessment concerning alleged stock shortage at a jewellery store, directing the VAT Officer to undertake a fresh assessment after taking into consideration the effect of subsequent sales of the goods found short during a survey.The division bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Shail Jain was hearing an appeal under Section 81 of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004, against an order passed by the Appellate Tribunal Value Added Tax.The appellant was...

Charitable Donations Not Taxable As 'Sponsorship' Without Reciprocal Obligation: Madras High Court

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on 16 September held that charitable contributions cannot be treated as taxable sponsorship services where the recipient is not under an obligation to provide anything in return. A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and M.D. Sumathi set aside the entire service tax demand raised against Karur Vysya Bank Ltd. They held that the Revenue failed to prove most contributions were sponsorship services, while noting that even the two qualifying...

Property Acquisition By State Not A Supply Of Goods Or Services: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that compulsory acquisition of immovable property by the State in exercise of eminent domain does not amount to a supply of goods or services liable to Goods and Services Tax (GST). Justice R. Nataraj quashed the deduction of Rs. 12,28,906 towards GST from the compensation payable to four landowners whose house property was acquired for widening the Mysuru-Madikeri Highway. The Bench observed: “...An immovable property cannot at any stretch of imagination is...

CESTAT Allahabad Sets Aside Value Enhancement, Finds Import Data Missing From Acceptance Letters

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Allahabad has recently refused to treat an importer's written acceptance of enhanced customs values as conclusive after finding that the letters did not contain the contemporaneous import data cited as the basis for the enhancement.“Given the language as noted in some of the letters as written by the appellant and placed above, there is a wide gap which has not been bridged by the Revenue, in the matter. The contents of this...