RTI Cannot Be Used To Obtain Spouse's Income Tax Returns In Maintenance Dispute Without Larger Public Interest: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court, in a recent noteworthy ruling, has held that income tax returns and financial details of a spouse constitute “personal information” under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and cannot be disclosed in the absence of a demonstrable larger public interest, even in maintenance disputes. Observing that private matrimonial disputes do not by themselves satisfy the statutory requirement for disclosure, a single bench, Justice Suraj Govindaraj, held, "While the need for a...

Supreme Court Allows Zoomcar To File GST Appeal After Rajasthan HC Disposed Its Writ Without Granting Liberty

The Supreme Court has recently permitted Zoomcar India Pvt. Ltd., a car-sharing platform, to file a statutory appeal against GST assessment orders arising from proceedings for the financial year 2019–20, after the Rajasthan High Court disposed of its writ petitions without granting liberty to pursue the appellate remedy. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan was dealing with special leave petitions challenging the Rajasthan High Court's orders, which had...

Karnataka High Court Sets Aside Ex-Parte GST Order Passed Without Allowing Reply To Show Cause Notice

The Karnataka High Court has set aside an ex-parte GST order passed against Medizen Labs Pvt. Ltd. after noting that the adjudicating authority issued the order without considering any reply from the taxpayer. The court observed that, in the facts of the case, it would be appropriate to give the assessee an opportunity to respond to the show cause notice before the matter is decided on merits. A single-judge bench of Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav was hearing a writ petition filed by the...

Delhi High Court Upholds CESTAT Order Restoring Customs Broker License, Faults Vague Show Cause Notice

The Delhi High Court has upheld a CESTAT order restoring an entity's customs broker licence, holding that action based on a vague show cause notice cannot be sustained in law.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Customs challenging the CESTAT order which had set aside the revocation of the respondent's Customs Broker licence.The dispute arose from an order dated February 14, 2024 by which the customs authorities had...

Delhi High Court Quashes Order Requiring OYO Parent Oravel Stays To Deposit 20% Tax Demand During Appeal

The Delhi High Court has quashed an order directing Oravel Stays Limited, the parent company of OYO, to deposit 20% of the outstanding tax demand as a condition for the grant of a stay during the pendency of its appeal.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar set aside the order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax which had disposed of the company's stay application by directing payment of 20% of the total demand while keeping the remaining demand stayed.In its petition,...

Income Tax Assessment Order Against Amalgamated Boeing Entity Is Void: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has reiterated that an income tax assessment order passed in the name of a company that had ceased to exist following amalgamation is void ab initio and cannot be sustained in law.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar thus dismissed an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against Boeing India.For context, Boeing International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. (BICIPL) had originally filed its return declaring an income of ₹60.55 crore. Subsequently, the...

Land Component In Country Club Membership Fee Cannot Be Included For Service Tax: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the value of land included in composite membership packages offered by Country Club (India) Ltd (now known as Country Club Hospitality & Holidays Ltd) (appellant) cannot be included in the taxable value for the purpose of levying service tax under the category of “club or association service".The bench consists of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi stated that "The...

Tobacco Board Auction Fee Is Statutory Levy, Not Taxable Service; No Service Tax Payable: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that statutory fees collected by the Tobacco Board for conducting auctions of Virginia tobacco cannot be treated as consideration for taxable services and, therefore, are not liable to service tax.The bench consists of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi, who observed that the Tobacco Board was performing statutory and regulatory functions under the governing legislation...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of MakeMyTrip's NIL TDS Certificate, Calls Order Non-Speaking

The Delhi High Court has recently set aside an order of the Income Tax Department rejecting online travel company MakeMyTrip's application for a NIL or lower withholding tax certificate for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act.A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar observed that the impugned order was a non-speaking one and failed to provide reasons for the rejection. It observed,“...in the past, withholding certificates were issued at rates...

Search Year Must Be Included While Computing 10-Year Block For Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 9 March, held that while computing the extended ten-year block period for reassessment in search cases, the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the search is conducted (search assessment year) must be included in the computation. The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi quashed the notice issued to Dilipbhai Prabhudas Patel (petitioner) under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act. The Bench held: "The statutory...

LiveLawBiz Direct Tax Weekly Round-Up: March 09 - March 15, 2026

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Refuses To Entertain Plea Challenging Search Powers Over Digital Devices Under Income Tax Act, 1961, And 2025 ActCase Title : Vishwaprasad Alva vs Union of India Case Number : WP(C) No. 114 of 2026 CITATION : 2026 LLBiz SC 102The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition challenging the constitutional validity of the search and seizure powers over digital devices under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and its corresponding provision, Section...

Chennai CESTAT Allows Duty Exemption For JSW Steel, Rules Belated Reports Cannot Override Notice

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 10 March held that customs authorities cannot deny exemption by relying on test reports that were not part of the Show Cause Notice, and that adjudication cannot travel beyond the allegations contained in the notice. A Bench of Judicial Member P. Dinesha and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao set aside the demand raised against JSW Steel Ltd., holding that the imported coal satisfied the exemption...