Penalty Order Is In Limitation If Issued Within Six Months Of Appellate Order: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 6 February held that when penalty proceedings arise from assessment orders and the assessment is challenged on appeal, the limitation period for issuing a penalty can be computed from the appellate order. A penalty issued within the prescribed period after the appellate decision is therefore not time-barred. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy upheld a penalty imposed on actor Joseph Vijay under the Income Tax Act, 1961, observing that the penalty order dated 30 June 2022...

Input Tax Credit Transfer On Company Amalgamation Not Restricted By State: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 5 March held that input tax credit (ITC) cannot be denied on the amalgamation of companies merely because the transferor and transferee entities are registered in different States. A Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi heard a petition filed by Emerson Process Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. challenging the refusal of GST authorities to allow the transfer of ITC following the amalgamation of Pentair Valves and Controls India Pvt....

No Penalty For Erroneous Claim Based On Bona Fide Interpretation Of Tax Treaty: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 5 February held that an erroneous claim of double taxation relief by itself cannot lead to a penalty under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 when the taxpayer has fully disclosed the relevant income and the claim arises from a bona fide interpretation of law. A Division Bench of Dr. Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineini Sudheer Kumar heard appeals filed by the Commissioner of Income Tax against Indian Overseas Bank challenging an order of the Income...

J&K&L High Court Upholds Income Tax Addition After Taxpayer Gave Inflated Stock Statement To Bank

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Wednesday upheld an addition to taxable income made on the basis of a stock statement furnished by a taxpayer to a bank while availing a cash credit facility, holding that the tax authorities were justified in relying on the declaration where discrepancies with the books of account remained unexplained. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal dismissed an appeal filed by Ajay Food Products challenging an...

AO Cannot Reopen Assessment On Same Material To Cure Lapse In Original Proceedings: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 24 February ruled that the Revenue cannot initiate reassessment proceedings under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act based on the same material that was already scrutinised in the original proceedings, which later lapsed due to the Assessing Officer's failure to meet the statutory deadlines. The Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held that reopening an assessment in such circumstances is an impermissible attempt to “camouflage”...

Samsung India Anti-Profiteering Case: GSTAT Directs DGAP To Re-Examine Cost, CSD Supply Issues

The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) at New Delhi has directed the Director General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP) to re-examine certain issues in the anti-profiteering proceedings involving Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. after the matter had earlier been reserved for pronouncement of the final order. A bench comprising President Justice (Retd.) Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Technical Member A. Venu Prasad passed the order after considering the matter and holding a conference...

Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To Businessman Accused Of Supplying Bottles And Caps For Spurious Liquor

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to a businessman accused of supplying plastic bottles, caps bearing government labels and cardboard boxes allegedly used for bottling spurious liquor. The Court noted that he was not initially named in the FIR and that no raid had been conducted at his place of business.A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and N.V. Anjaria allowed the appeal filed by Manoj Kumar Mutta and set aside the Andhra Pradesh High Court's order dated December 5,...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Over Denial Of Use Or Refund Of Compensation Cess ITC After Coal Cess Scrapped

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a writ petition challenging the denial of utilisation or refund of accumulated Compensation Cess input tax credit (ITC) after the cess on coal was scrapped. The petition, filed by Carbon Resources Pvt. Ltd., claims the change has left the company with around Rs 23 crore in compensation cess credit that has become unusable because no mechanism was provided to either utilise or refund it. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and...

GST Summary Notice Cannot Replace Statutory Show Cause Notice: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has held that a summary of a show cause notice issued in Form GST DRC-01 cannot substitute the requirement of a proper show cause notice under the GST law.Justice Soumitra Saikia quashed the order dated August 29, 2024, issued against the taxpayer, Md. Shoriful Islam, under the GST regime after observing that the tax authorities had only issued a summary of the show cause notice along with an attachment containing the determination of tax.The petitioner was issued a...

Service Tax Cannot Be Demanded Solely Based On Form 26AS Data Without Inquiry: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on 20 February, held that the Revenue Department cannot demand Service Tax from a taxpayer, solely on the basis of information provided in Form 26AS. The Division Bench of Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Shamima Jahan heard an appeal filed by the Principal Commissioner of CGST, Dibrugarh, against a CESTAT Kolkata order that had set aside a service tax demand of Rs. 6,39,09,190 imposed on a contractor. The Bench held: “The show cause notice dated 21.10.2019 and...

Madras High Court Upholds Same-Month ISD Credit Rule Under CGST, Dismisses Reliance Jio's Challenge

The Madras High Court on 5 March upheld the validity of Rule 39(1)(a) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which mandates that an Input Service Distributor (ISD) must allocate tax credits within the same month in which an invoice is received. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan was hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, challenging the provision governing the timing of distribution of Input Service...

Gujarat High Court Grants Bail To Lawyer Accused Of Filing GST Return For 'Non-Existent, Fake Entities'

The Gujarat High Court recently granted bail to an advocate who was arrested for allegedly filing GST returns for firms that are claimed to be non-existent, fake entities.Sanghani has been booked under Sections 132 (1)(b) (whoever issues any invoice or bill without supply of goods or services or both in violation of the provisions of the Act, or the rules made thereunder leading to wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit or refund of tax), and 132 (1) (c) (whoever avails input tax...