Kerala High Court Quashes Order Dismissing Actor Jayasurya's Income Tax Appeal Over Non-Appearance

The Kerala High Court has quashed an order dismissing Malayalam actor Jayasurya's (Jayan Vathakkattu Moni) income tax appeal solely because he failed to appear for the hearing despite notices being issued on four occasions.Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. held that an appellant's non-appearance cannot, by itself, be a ground to dismiss an appeal without considering the grounds raised in it.The court was hearing a plea challenging an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The appeal...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On IOCL's Plea Against Service Tax On Crude Oil Storage At Barauni Refinery

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea filed by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) challenging a Patna High Court ruling. The High Court had held that the terminal facility used for storing crude oil at its Barauni Refinery amounted to an independent “storage and warehousing” service liable to service tax.A Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Vijay Bishnoi briefly heard IOCL's challenge to the High Court ruling before issuing notice. The case concerns whether storage of...

E-Way Bill Generated After Detention Cannot Cure GST Violation: GSTAT Bengaluru

The GST Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru Bench, has dismissed an appeal against a penalty imposed on a taxpayer after GST authorities found that goods were being unloaded at a destination different from the one mentioned in the accompanying tax documents.The Tribunal held that the subsequent generation of an e-way bill and invoice after interception could not cure the violation under Section 129 of the CGST Act, as the required documents for the actual destination were not available when the...

Original Goods' Value Need Not Be Included In E-Way Bill For Job Work Returns: GSTAT Thiruvananthapuram

The GST Appellate Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram Bench, has held that when a job worker returns goods to the principal after completing the job work, the transaction value is limited to the job-work charges and applicable duties. The value of the original goods subjected to job work cannot be included in the consignment value declared in the e-way bill. The Division Bench of Vice-President Subramanya Rayaprol and Technical Member Ramamoorthi Sriram further held that where the transaction value of...

Kerala Water Authority Not 'Local Authority,' Works Contract Services Taxable At 18% From 2022: GSTAT Thiruvananthapuram

The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), Thiruvananthapuram Bench, has held that the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is not a “local authority” under the CGST Act. It consequently ruled that works contract services supplied to KWA were taxable at 18% from January 1, 2022, instead of the 12% rate paid by the assessee. A coram of Vice-President Subramanya Rayaprol and Technical Member Ramamoorthi Sriram held that KWA does not fall within any of the categories of “local authority” specified under Section...

Mismatch In ITC Claim And Supplier Credit Alone Cannot Prove Wrongful ITC : GSTAT Bengaluru

The GST Appellate Tribunal, Bengaluru Bench, has held that a difference between the input tax credit (ITC) claimed by a taxpayer in its GST return and the credit reflected in the supplier-linked GSTR-2A statement cannot, by itself, prove that the ITC was wrongly availed.It observed that a mismatch between GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B, by itself, cannot establish that Input Tax Credit was wrongly claimed.The Division Bench of Judicial Member Prabhakaran P.M. and Technical Member (State) Ravi Jesuraj S....

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of GST Cancellation Revocation Plea Over Unidentified Officer

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order rejecting a taxpayer's application for revocation of cancellation of its GST registration, after finding that the notice granting an opportunity of personal hearing did not disclose the details of the officer before whom the taxpayer was required to appear.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan directed the GST authorities to grant the taxpayer a fresh opportunity of personal hearing and thereafter pass a fresh order on its...

Income Tax Act | Delhi High Court Seeks Affidavit On Pending Advance Ruling Cases, Appointment Of Board Members

The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Government to file an affidavit disclosing the pendency of cases before the Boards for Advance Rulings and their benches, while also seeking details regarding the status of Chief Commissioners nominated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as members of the Boards.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta passed the direction while hearing a batch of petitions, including those filed by Mitsubishi Electric and the...

Delhi High Court Upholds Delhivery's ₹51.48 Crore Deduction For ESOP Expenditure

The Delhi High Court has upheld Delhivery Pvt. Ltd.'s claim for deduction of ₹51.48 crore in ESOP expenditure, ruling that the Assessing Officer was also not justified in rejecting a Chartered Accountant's valuation report for an assessment year when such certification was permissibleThe Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta dismissed the Revenue's appeal in its entirety and answered both questions raised before it in favour of the assessee.One of the questions before...

Reassessment Notice Can Be Issued Without Section 148A Procedure For Pre-Sept 2024 Searches: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that where a search was conducted between April 1, 2021 and September 1, 2024, the reassessment provisions under Sections 147 to 151 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as they stood before the Finance Act, 2024 amendment, would continue to apply.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta accordingly upheld the issuance of a notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act without first following the procedure under Section 148A(b), (c) and (d).The...

Delhi High Court Stays Income Tax Reassessment Against GoDaddy Over 'Over-Zealous' Approach Of AO

The Delhi High Court has stayed income reassessment proceedings initiated against domain registrar GoDaddy.com LLC, observing that the Assessing Officer (AO) was proceeding with an “over-zealous approach” and appeared to be guided by revenue considerations.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that the AO had “ignored objectivity and basic tenet of tax adjudication system, being certainty and finality of the assessment proceedings.”GoDaddy's counsel...

Ocean Freight Service Tax Refund Claim Filed After One Year Is Time-Barred: CESTAT Delhi

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, has held that a refund claim for service tax paid on ocean freight was subject to the one-year limitation under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, as applicable to service tax.Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya ruled that the relevant date for calculating the limitation was the date on which the tax was paid. The subsequent finding by the Gujarat High court that the ocean-freight levy was unconstitutional did not...