Tax
GST Not Payable On Transfer Of Leasehold Rights: Gujarat High Court Directs Refund
The Gujarat High Court, recently relying on its earlier ruling, reiterated that transferring or assigning leasehold rights in land is equivalent to the sale of land and therefore does not constitute a taxable 'supply' under the GST frameworkA Bench of Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi was hearing a petition filed by Aquaeva Chemtech Private Limited, which had challenged the withholding of its GST refund relating to the transfer of leasehold rights in an industrial plot. The court...
Barreled Bitumen Cost Included In Excise Valuation: CESTAT Ahmedabad
The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 22 January upheld the inclusion of the cost of barrels for bitumen sold from depots. It clarified that barrelled bitumen is different from bulk clearances from a refinery and therefore, the two cannot be treated the same.A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh was examining whether the cost of barrels used for packing bitumen by Nayara Energy...
DGFT Revises Bulk Drug Policy, PEN-G, Amoxycillin Subject To Minimum Import Price Till Jan 2027
In a Notification dated 29 January 2026, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has revised the import policy for certain bulk drugs, including Penicillin G-Potassium (PEN-G) and its salts. According to the notification, specific antibiotics such as PEN-G, Amoxycillin and its salts, and 6-APA have been moved from the 'Free' category to the 'Restricted' category. Further, the notification prescribes a Minimum Import Price (MIP) for certain imports. It is the lowest price at which a...
Services For Private Railway Sidings Are Exempt From Tax: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court on 8 January held that services rendered for the construction of private railway sidings are eligible for service tax exemption. A Division Bench comprising Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind was hearing an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central Tax, Bengaluru East Commissionerate, challenging an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The Bench held: “There is no indication in the notification, nor any exception...
Supreme Court To Examine If PF, ESI Deposits Late Under Welfare Laws but Paid Before IT Return Are Deductible
The Supreme Court has recently said that it will examine a long-standing dispute under the Income Tax Act on whether employees' provident fund and ESI contributions, deposited late under labour welfare laws, can still be allowed as deductions if paid before the income tax return due date. A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Sandeep Mehta, while hearing a petition filed by Woodland (Aero Club) Private Limited, noted that High Courts across the country have taken conflicting views on...
New Limitation Plea Without Records Not Maintainable Before CESTAT: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court dismissed an appeal filed by M/s Modern Engineering & Plastics Pvt. Ltd., holding that a plea on limitation cannot be raised for the first time before the Tribunal without supporting factual material on record. A Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice P. Dhanabal observed that limitation under Section 11A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 is a mixed question of law and fact, and cannot be examined by a court or tribunal in the absence of necessary evidence. The...
'Reason To Believe' Not Required To Inspect Seized Jewellery Under Income Tax Act: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court on 28 January dismissed a writ petition challenging inspection notices issued by the Income Tax Department for jewellery and bullion seized during a search operation, holding that the revenue authorities are not required to disclose the information or reasons that prompted the inspection, so long as it is undertaken for purposes permitted under the Income Tax Act (IT Act), 1961. Justice Om Narayan Rai delivered the ruling while examining a challenge to notices issued...
Economic Survey 2025-26: GST 2.0 Delivers Stable Revenue As Transactions Rise
The Economic Survey 2025–26 said GST revenues remained steady following rate rationalisation under the GST 2.0 framework.Gross GST collections during April to December 2025 stood at Rs 17.4 lakh crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent, the Survey noted. It added that GST revenue growth broadly tracked nominal GDP growth during the period. The Survey also pointed to strong transaction activity, with cumulative e-way bill generation rising 21 percent year-on-year during the same...
Economic Survey 2025–26 Signals Next Phase of Tax Reforms
The Economic Survey 2025–26, tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, sets out the government's next set of tax priorities, with the emphasis on simplification, greater consistency, and cleaning up remaining issues across the tax system. On the direct tax side, the Survey notes that the Income Tax Act, 2025, will come into force on April 1, 2026, and apply from the tax year 2026–27. Alongside this, the Survey points to efforts to rationalise the tax treatment of...
Stamp Duty on DRT-Monitored Auction Sales To Follow Auction Price, Not Market Price: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has reaffirmed that stamp duty on a sale certificate issued pursuant to a court-monitored auction, including auctions conducted by the Debt Recovery Tribunal, must be levied on the auction price and not on a higher market value independently assessed by stamp authorities.A Single Judge Bench of Justice N.J. Jamadar held that once a property is sold through a transparent, court-supervised auction process, stamp authorities cannot reassess its value by applying independent...
Exemption Claims Under Kerala Building Tax Act Must Be Referred To Government: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court on 14 January held that when a claim for exemption under the Kerala Building Tax Act is raised, statutory authorities are obliged to refer the matter to the State Government and cannot independently reject the claim while completing assessment proceedings. The ruling was delivered by Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. while allowing a writ petition filed by M/s VPK Motors Pvt. Ltd., which runs a Toyota dealership at Kannur, challenging the levy of building tax on its premises...
Two-Year GST Refund Limitation Starts From Date Of Correct Payment: Kerala High Court
Earlier this month, the Kerala High Court held that the two-year limitation period under the GST law to claim refunds begins from the date on which tax is paid under the correct head, and not from the date of an earlier mistaken payment. The ruling was delivered by Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. while allowing a writ petition filed by Pushpagiri Medical Society, a registered non-profit organisation running a hospital and medical education institutions in Kerala. The Bench observed: “The right to...