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...

Madras High Court Dismisses Taxpayer Appeal, Says Books Were Rejected Before DVO Reference

The Madras High Court has held that the Assessing Officer was justified in referring the matter to the District Valuation Officer after examining the books of accounts and finding inconsistencies in them, and that the taxpayer could not rely on the Supreme Court's ruling in Sargam Cinema to argue that the reference to the Valuation Officer was invalid. The Division Bench of Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice Shamim Ahmed dismissed the tax appeal filed by taxpayer M. Ravindran and affirmed the...

No Service Tax On Advertisement Expense Reimbursement Received By Panasonic Under Cost-Sharing Deal: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that service tax cannot be levied on reimbursement of advertisement and sales promotion expenses received by Panasonic Home Appliances India Co. Ltd. from its foreign group company under a cost-sharing arrangement, as such payments do not constitute consideration for any taxable service. The bench, comprising Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar and Judicial Member Ajayan T.V., observed that although the...

Gujarat High Court Upholds DRI Seizure Of Imported Industrial Oil, Says Product Most Akin To Restricted Diesel Fuel

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the seizure of imported consignments declared as “industrial oil," holding that the product was most akin to Automotive Diesel Fuel (ADF) / High Flash High Speed Diesel (HFHSD), which are restricted commodities importable only through State Trading Enterprises under the import policy.The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed multiple writ petitions filed by importers, including Deep International (petitioner),...

Bill Of Entry Amendment After Search Permissible Under Customs Act: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Relief To Ceramic Tableware

The Rajasthan High Court has recently observed that amendments in the Bill of Entry can be made even after a search is conducted, and such amendments cannot be refused merely because the error was detected by the department and not disclosed suo motu by the importer. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sangeeta Sharma said that the purpose of Section 149 of the Customs Act, 1962 is to ensure proper assessment and that the power to allow amendment must be...

Shahnaz Ayurvedics' Products Are Ayurvedic Medicines, Not Cosmetics; CESTAT New Delhi Sets Aside Excise Duty Demand

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the 18 disputed products manufactured by Shahnaz Ayurvedics are Ayurvedic Patent and Proprietary medicines and not cosmetics, and therefore the excise duty demand, interest and penalties raised by the Department cannot be sustained. The bench comprising President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao observed that the mere presence of excipients or fillers cannot take a...

Service Tax Not Leviable On Tobacco Processing Job Work: CESTAT Hyderabad Dismisses Revenue Appeal

The Hyderabad Bench of CESTAT has dismissed the Revenue's appeal against Premier Tobacco Packers, holding that service tax cannot be levied on job work relating to threshing and redrying of tobacco leaves, as the issue is already settled by earlier Tribunal rulings treating such activity as processing of agricultural produce. The bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member A.K. Jyotishi dismissed the Department's appeal and upheld the Order-in-Appeal, which had set aside the...

ITAT Ahmedabad Upholds 100% Deduction After Expansion Of Sintex's Himachal Unit

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has upheld the eligibility of Sintex Industries Ltd. to claim 100% deduction on profits under Section 80-IC of the Income Tax Act even after the initial five-year period where the eligible unit had undertaken substantial expansion. The tribunal coram of Judicial Member Sanjay Garg and Accountant Member Annapurna Gupta dismissed the Revenue's appeal challenging the deletion of an addition of Rs 59.53 crore made by the Assessing...

Supply Of Water To Vessels Within Port Liable To Service Tax Before 2010 Exemption: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the supply of water to vessels within a port area forms part of “port services” and is liable to service tax under the Finance Act, 1994 for the period prior to the exemption introduced with effect from July 1, 2010. The bench comprising Judicial Member Dr Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh observed that, “We therefore, agree with the arguments of learned AR...

Transfer Of Self-Generated Trademark Before April 2002 Not Taxable As Capital Gains: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that money received from transferring a self-generated trademark before 2002 cannot be taxed as capital gains, as the law allowing such taxation came into force only later. The Court noted that Section 55(2) of the Income Tax Act was amended with effect from April 1, 2002, to allow taxation of transfers of trademarks by treating their cost of acquisition as nil, and the amendment cannot apply to earlier transactions.A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S....