Tax
Tax Department Can't Create Charge On Property Of Corporate Debtor During Currency Of Moratorium Imposed By NCLT: Himachal Pradesh HC
The Himachal High Court held that once the corporate debtor is directed to be liquidated by the NCLT u/s 33(5) of Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), no legal proceeding could be instituted by or against him by the Tax Authorities.Thus, the High Court clarified that the red entry/charge created by the Revenue Department on the property of the petitioner-company during the currency of the moratorium imposed by the NCLT, would be void in law.Prior approval of the Adjudicating Authority under...
Proper Officer Has No Evidence That Taxpayer Did Not Exist At Principal Place Of Business: Delhi HC Quashes Order Cancelling GST Registration With Retro Effect
Pointing out that the order cancelling the petitioner's GST registration with retrospective effect does not indicate any reason except referring to the SCN, the Delhi High Court quashed the said order and permitted the petitioner to file a response to the SCN.The Division Bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Sachin Datta observed that “letter sent by Deputy Commissioner (Anti Evasion) did not provide any particulars as to on which date the physical verification was conducted. It also...
Staff Welfare Expenditure Incurred By Employer As Per SEBI Guidelines Is Revenue Expenditure: Delhi High Court
Emphasizing that shares which is subject to a lock-in stipulation, could not be sold in an open market, the Delhi High Court held that valuation report obtained by the employer for ascertaining its withholding tax obligations during allotment of such shares to its employees as a perquisite, cannot be considered for purpose of Fair Market Value (FMV) of those shares.Referring to the decision in case of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax vs. M/s Religare Securities Ltd. [ITA 311/2018], the...
Department Can't Issue SCN Simply Alleging Misstatement, Without Pointing Out Specific Fact Of Suppression By Taxpayer: Delhi HC
Finding that the Show cause notice (SCN) issued to the petitioner/assessee did not set out any intelligible reasons for cancellation of its GST registration, the Delhi High Court quashed the said SCN.The High Court found that the SCN issued to the petitioner, simply mentioned the provisions of Section 29(2)(e) of the CGST Act, 2017 which authorises the proper officer to cancel the taxpayer's GST registration if it is obtained by means of fraud, wilful mis-statement, or suppression of facts,...
Profits Attributable To Permanent Establishment Can't Be Ignored On Basis Of Global Income Or Loss Earned/ Incurred By Cross Border Entity: Delhi HC
Referring to Article 7 of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) entered into between the Government of United Arab Emirates and the Republic of India, the Delhi High Court held that the right of the Holding company (source State) to allocate or attribute income to the Permanent Establishment (PE) cannot be restricted on the basis of the global income or loss that may have been earned or incurred by a cross-border entity.If an enterprise is carrying on business through a PE situated in...
Assessee Entitled To Cash Refund Of Accumulated CENVAT Credit Despite Abolition Of Education Cess: CESTAT
The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that merely because levy of education cess was abolished does not disqualify an assessee from availing Cenvat Credit on Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess.The Bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and C L Mahar (Technical Member) has observed that “the abolition of Education Cess does not affect the accumulated Cenvat credit which was availed during the time when the Cenvat...
If State GST Has Started Proceedings, They Must Complete The Process; It Cannot Be Transferred To Central GST: Himachal Pradesh High Court
The Himachal Pradesh High Court stated that the State and Central Governments have been extended the same powers under the CGST and SGST Act and if one of the officers has already initiated proceedings, the same cannot be transferred to another and he alone is to issue process under the Act and take it to its logical end.The Bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan observed that “….where a proper officer under the CGST Act had initiated proceedings on a subject matter, no proceedings would be...
Income Tax Authorities Have The Power To Seek Interim Custody Of Currency Notes Produced Before The Magistrate: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court held that income tax authorities have the power to seek interim custody of currency notes seized and produced before the jurisdictional magistrate by any other officer or authority if there is any reason to believe that the seized currency is part of any asset that has not been disclosed for the purpose of the Income Tax Act.The Division Bench of Justice P. B. Suresh Kumar and Justice C. Pratheep Kumar was answering a question referred to it by the Single Bench. The Single...
IPC Provisions Can't Be Invoked Directly Without Applying Penal Provisions Of GST Act: Madhya Pradesh High Court
The Madhya Pradesh High Court stated that GST authorities cannot bypass the procedural safeguards under the GST Act by directly invoking IPC provisions without first applying the penal provisions of the GST Act. The Division Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Duppala Venkata Ramana observed that “GST Act, 2017 is a special legislation which holistically deals with procedure, penalties and offences relating GST and at the cost of repetition this court cannot emphasise...
Appeal Can't Be Rejected For Failure To Upload Documents On GST Portal Due To Technical Errors: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court stated that an appeal cannot be rejected solely due to the failure to upload documents on the GST portal if the delay or failure is due to technical errors on the portal. The Bench of Justice Krishnan Ramasamy observed that “….an appeal should not be rejected without affording the parties an opportunity to be heard, particularly when the rejection arises from technical issues beyond their control.” Facts of the case: The assessee/petitioner manually filed...
Interest Can Be Waived In Situations Beyond Assessee's Control In Timely Filing Of Returns: Punjab And Haryana High Court
The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that interest for late filing of income tax returns can be waived in situations where the delay was beyond the control of assessee. The Bench of Justices Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Sanjay Vashisth observed that “….while exercising the discretion by the Settlement Commission, no reasons have been assigned as to why the interest has been reduced by 50% only, and as to why the complete interest has not been waived off for the assessment year...
S. 2(h) Orissa Entry Tax Act | Tractor Trolley Not 'Motor Vehicle' & Not Amenable To Entry Tax: High Court
The Orissa High Court has held that tractor trailer/trolley is not a 'motor vehicle' as per Section 2(h) of the Orissa Entry Tax Act, 1999 ('OET Act') and therefore, not amenable to entry tax as per the said statute.Interpreting the meaning of 'motor vehicle' as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ('MV Act') as well as the OET Act, the Division Bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo held:“We have already seen definition given of 'motor vehicle' and 'vehicle' in section...