Agreement To Provide Manpower For Maintenance Is Contract Of Service And Not A Sale Under MVAT Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that an agreement to provide manpower to perform maintenance is a contract of service and not a sale contract under the MVAT Act.The bench of Justice K. R. Shriram and Justice Neela Gokhale has observed that the pith and substance of the contract or true nature of the transaction show that the contract is a contract for service simpliciter and is not a works contract or composite contract consisting of two contracts, one for service and one for sale, but is an...

CESTAT Allows Excise Duty Exemption On Special Purpose Bullet Proof Armoured Vehicles To Tata Motors

The Chandigarh Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has granted the excise duty exemption on special purpose bullet-proof armoured vehicles to Tata Motors.The bench of S. S. Garg (Judicial Member) and P. Anjani Kumar (Technical Member) has observed that bullet-proof armoured vehicles are special-purpose vehicles, and VRDE has certified the vehicles to be special-purpose vehicles. The vehicles are classifiable under CETH 8705 0000 and thus eligible for...

Chhattisgarh High Court Upholds Constitutional Validity Of S. 16(4) Of CGST Act

The Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the constitutional validity of Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, which specifies the time frame in which a registered taxpayer is required to claim input tax credit.The bench of Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Radhakishan Agrawal has observed that Section 16(4) of the CGST Act is violative of neither Article 14 of the Constitution nor Articles 19(1)(g) and 300A of the Constitution; however, the ground under Article 19(1)(g) is not available to the...

NCLT Ahmedabad Directs Income Tax Department To Refund Tax To Corporate Debtor; Section 53 Of IBC Overrides Sec. 194-IA Of Income Tax Act

The National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”), Ahmedabad Bench, comprising of Mrs. Chitra Hankare (Judicial Member) and Dr. Velamur G Venkata Chalapathy (Technical Member), has held that Income Tax deducted and paid by the auction purchaser amounts to recovery of tax from Corporate Debtor (which is under liquidation), on priority with other creditors as mentioned in Section 53 of IBC, which is against the object and provisions of IBC. The Liquidator sold the assets of the Corporate Debtor...

Patna High Court Allows Appeal Beyond Stipulated Time based on CBIC Notification

In a recent ruling, the Patna High Court has provided relief to individuals facing delayed appeals under Sections 73 and 74 of the BGST Act.The judgment, arising from a petition challenging the rejection of an appeal due to a five-day delay, underscores the significance of a recent notification by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. According to Notification No. 53 of 2023-Central Tax, dated 02.11.2023 (S.O. 4767(E)), the time for filing appeals against orders passed by the Proper...

Without Pointing Out Any Specific Defect In Audited Books Of Accounts AO Can't And Should Not Make Any Estimated Addition: ITAT

The Delhi Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that without pointing out any specific defect in the audited books of accounts, the AO cannot and should not make any estimated addition.The bench of Kul Bharat (Judicial Member) and N. K. Billaiya (Accountant Member) has observed that the expenses claimed by the assessee were also test-checked, and while making the addition, the AO says that the books of account vouchers were not produced. The logical question arises: if the books...

Hero Cycle Not Required To Pay Automobile Cess On E-Bike As It Was Already Paid At The Time Of Import: CESTAT

The Chandigarh bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Hero Cycle is not required to pay automobile cess on an e-bike as it was already paid at the time of import.The bench of S. S. Garg (Judicial Member) has observed that the entire information regarding the clearance of the e-bike was reflected in the ER-1 return submitted to the department periodically, and the department never raised any objection regarding the non-deposit of automobile cess,...

Incentives Received Under “Atma Nirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna” Can't Be Considered As Subsidy, GST Applicable: Gujarat AAAR

The Gujarat Appellate Authority of Advance Ruling (AAAR) has held that incentives received under the “Atma Nirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna” dated May 16, 2020, declared by the Gujarat Government could not be considered subsidies, and GST is applicable.The bench of B V Siva Naga Kumari and Sameer Vakil has upheld the AAR's order in which it was held that the incentive received by the appellant, Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank Ltd., is not a subsidy and is liable to GST. The ruling stated that the...

Fire Incidence Beyond Control Of ONGC Petro, CESTAT Allows Customs Duty Remission

The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed the customs duty remission on the goods that were destroyed as a result of the fire incident beyond the control of the assessee, ONGC Petro.The bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and Raju (Technical Member) observed that the fire incident had taken place in the appellant's factory located in SEZ units. As per the survey report, it is clear that there is no negligence on the part of the...

Payment Under IPL Playing Contract, CESTAT Quashes Service Tax Demand Against Cricketer R. Ashwin

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has quashed the service tax demand against cricketer R. Ashwin.The bench of Sulekha Beevi C.S. (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical Member) has observed that payment received under the IPL playing contract is remuneration for work, not consideration for brand promotion.The appellant/assessee, R. Ashwin, is a cricketer playing for the 'Chennai Super Kings' owned by M/s.India Cements Limited, which is...

Decision To Cancel GST Registration With Retrospective Effect Must Be Based On Some Objective Criteria: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the decision to cancel the GST registration with retrospective effect must be based on some objective criteria.The bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan has observed that the petitioner's GST registration was cancelled on account of non-filing of returns for a period of six months. There was no reason for the petitioner's GST registration to be cancelled, even for a period when she was filing the returns.The petitioner/assessee was carrying on...

GST Evasion Prosecution Does Not Depend Upon Completion Of Assessment: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that prosecution for offences under Section 132 of the CGST Act does not depend upon the completion of the assessment.The bench of Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. refused to grant bail on the grounds that there is an alleged evasion of more than Rs. 6.5 crore against the petitioner. A serious allegation is made, which warrants a thorough investigation. When the investigation is going on, no bail can be granted to the petitioner.The petitioner is the accused in the crime...