Gujarat High Court Bars Vimal Oil Reassessment Over Past Tax Liability, Cites IBC Clean Slate Principle

The Gujarat High Court on 30 June quashed reassessment proceedings against Vimal Oil and Foods Ltd., holding that the Assessing Officer cannot reopen an assessment of a company sold as a going concern under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) on mere assumptions without verifying whether any income had actually escaped assessment. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the batch of writ petitions filed by the company and quashed the notice issued under...

GST Refund Interest Must Run From Original Application Date After Illegal Rejection: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 2 July held that GST authorities cannot deny interest on refunds by treating a refund application filed pursuant to a Court order as a fresh application, ruling that where the original rejection of a refund claim is set aside as illegal, interest under Section 56 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act (which provides for interest on delayed refunds) must be calculated from the date of the original refund application. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia...

CBIC Forms Working Group To Examine PAN-Based Centralised GST Administration For Multi-GSTIN Taxpayers

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has constituted a Working Group to examine a proposal for centralised administration of taxpayers holding multiple Goods and Services Tax (GST) registrations under the same Permanent Account Number (PAN). The proposal covers taxpayers whose GST registrations fall under different Central Tax jurisdictions.The move is aimed at promoting ease of doing business and improving administrative efficiency. It seeks to streamline GST administration...

CESTAT Chennai Allows CENVAT Credit To Citibank For Cleaning And Event Services After 2011 Amendment

The Chennai Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 22 July held that Citibank N.A. is entitled to CENVAT credit on cleaning services, general insurance services, convention services, event management services and mandap keeper services. A Bench of Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar and Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. partly allowed the bank's appeals, while holding that CENVAT credit cannot be claimed on club or association services, health and fitness services, outdoor...

Right To Cross-Examination Cannot Be Denied Over Unretracted GST Statements: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 8 July held that GST authorities cannot reject a taxpayer's request to cross-examine witnesses merely because the witnesses have not retracted their earlier statements, observing that cross-examination is necessary to test the truthfulness of evidence relied upon during adjudication. Justice A.A. Ziyad Rahman passed the order while allowing the writ petition filed by Emas Gold and Diamonds LLP against a GST adjudication order passed following an investigation by the...

Madras High Court Grants ITC Refund To Vindhya Spinning Mills, Says Same Input Rate Can't Deny Relief

The Madras High Court on 14 July held that Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities cannot deny a refund of unutilised input tax credit (ITC) under the inverted duty structure merely because the principal input and the finished product attract the same rate of tax, if other inputs used in manufacturing are taxed at higher rates, leading to accumulation of ITC. Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy allowed two writ petitions filed by Vindhya Spinning Mills Private Limited, quashed the refund...

Gujarat High Court Quashes ₹41.53 Cr Excise Notice Against Jindal Saw, Backs Finality Of HPC Certificates

The Gujarat High Court on 15 July quashed a Rs. 41.53 crore central excise recovery notice issued to Jindal Saw Ltd., holding that the Commissioner of Central Excise had no jurisdiction to question eligibility certificates issued by the High Powered Committee under the exemption notification. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati held that allegations of fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining such certificates could only be examined by the statutory committee that...

Delhi HC Allows SC, HC Judges To Show Allowances As 'Receipts Not In Nature Of Income' Under New Tax Regime

The Delhi High Court, by way of an interim direction, has allowed Supreme Court and High Court judges to file their income tax returns by showing prescribed judicial allowances as “receipts not in the nature of income”, even while opting for the new tax regime.The order came in a petition filed by the Delhi Tax Bar Association challenging a September 12, 2025, Office Memorandum issued by the CBDT, which, according to the petitioner, denied judges opting for the new tax regime the benefit of...

ITAT Mumbai Grants LTCG Relief To Taxpayer, Rejects Revenue's Claim That Scrip Was Penny Stock

The Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has allowed an individual taxpayer's claim for exemption on long-term capital gains arising from the sale of shares after finding that the transactions were genuine and supported by documentary evidence. It observed that there was nothing on record to establish that the company whose shares were sold was a penny stock. The tribunal also found no material linking the assessee to any alleged accommodation entry operators.Judicial Member Sandeep...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Examine GST Liability On Diagnostic Services, Directs Petitioner To AAR

The Delhi High Court has recently refused to examine a challenge to the levy of 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on diagnostic services rendered by a private lab, observing that the issue falls within the jurisdiction of the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) under the GST Act, 2017.A division bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Amit Mahajan disposed of two writ petitions filed by a company after being informed that the vacancy in the Delhi Authority for Advance Ruling had been filled, thereby...

CESTAT Kolkata Sets Aside Service Tax Demand On Railway Cleaning and Housekeeping Services

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, has set aside the service tax demand raised against Khagaul Loco Labour Co-Operative Society after holding that the services provided by it to the Indian Railways were either not taxable, exempt from service tax, or part of the demand was barred by limitation.The tribunal also rejected the Department's allegation that the society had collected and retained service tax from the Railways, finding no evidence to support the...

Telangana High Court Restores Relief To Radiant Digital Solutions, Says Bona Fide Lapse Can't Deny Benefit

The Telangana High Court on 2 July held that a company cannot be denied the benefit of the concessional corporate tax regime under Section 115BAA of the Income Tax Act due to a bona fide delay in filing Form 10-IC, where it has substantially complied with the statutory requirements. A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda allowed the writ petition filed by Radiant Digital Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and set aside the Income Tax Department's order rejecting the company's...