Bombay High Court Quashes ₹1 Crore Stamp Duty Demand On Romell Real Estate's Slum Redevelopment Agreement

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside a stamp duty demand of over Rs. 1 crore raised against Romell Real Estate Pvt. Ltd., holding that the authorities erred by adding the cost of constructing a Permanent Transit Camp (PTC) while recalculating the market value in a slum redevelopment project. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan found that the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority (CCRA) acted arbitrarily in enhancing the market value by including the PTC construction cost...

Importer Who Voluntarily Pays Differential Customs Duty, Seeks DRI Probe Closure Cannot Claim Refund: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Wednesday held that differential customs duty voluntarily paid during a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigation cannot be claimed as a refund. The Court further held that Notification No. 25/2019-Customs amended the applicable customs duty rate by treating shrimp larvae feed in both pellet and non-pellet form as attracting 5% basic customs duty. The notification cannot be applied retrospectively to imports made prior to its issuance.The judgment was...

Customs House Agent Services To Foreign Clients Are Export, Service Tax Not Payable: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 19 February held that Customs House Agent (CHA) services rendered by an international freight forwarder to overseas customers constitute “export of service” and are not liable to service tax. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan heard cross appeals arising from an order passed against Ceva Freight India Pvt. Ltd (taxpayer), an international freight forwarder engaged...

Service Tax Leviable On Infrastructure Support To TCS, Educational Training Exempt: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 18 February, confirmed service tax liability on infrastructure and allied facilities provided to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) under “Business Support Service”, while setting aside the entire demand for training and educational activities under “Management or Business Consultancy Service”. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan, decided the appeal filed by Kalinga...

Supreme Court Issues Notice In Zoomcar Plea Over Denial Of Appeal Against GST Order By Rajasthan High Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on a special leave petition filed by Zoomcar India Pvt. Ltd., a self-drive car rental platform, challenging a Rajasthan High Court order that disposed of its writ petition without granting liberty to pursue a statutory appeal under the GST law. A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan heard the matter and directed the issuance of notice. Zoomcar had approached the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan challenging...

Shifting Materials Within Factory Not Taxable As “Cargo Handling Service”: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 17 February, held that shifting and transportation of materials within factory premises does not fall under the category of "Cargo Handling Service" and therefore no service tax is payable on such activity. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan was hearing an appeal filed by Eastern Transport Agency (taxpayer) against an order passed by the Commissioner of CGST...

Order Passed In Fraud Proceedings Cannot Be Reclassified To Avail Amnesty Scheme: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court held that an order passed under Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017 involving allegations of fraud, misstatement or suppression of facts cannot be converted into a non-fraud order under Section 73 merely to enable the taxpayer to claim relief under the GST Amnesty Scheme, in the absence of documentary evidence disproving such allegations. A Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi, by its order dated 13 February 2026, rejected the plea of R.B. Pandey...

Delhi High Court Quashes 15% TDS Certificate On SaaS Under India–US DTAA, Orders 2% Certificate

The Delhi High Court has quashed a 15% tax deduction at source (TDS) certificate issued under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act, in respect of payments made for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to a US-based company providing a web-based Vendor Management System (VMS) to Indian clients, including Infosys Ltd.A Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar held that the company had made out a prima facie arguable case on non-taxability under the India–US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement...

CESTAT Kolkata Grants ₹1.45 Crore CENVAT Credit Relief To PwC's Kolkata Service Delivery Arm Despite Invoice Irregularities

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has observed in a case that CENVAT credit/refund could not have been denied where receipt of services and payment of service tax were undisputed. The bench consists of Judicial Member Ashok Jindal and Technical Member K. Anpazhakan, decided a batch of service tax appeals filed by Price Waterhouse Coopers Service Delivery Centre (Kolkata) Pvt. Ltd., challenging the denial of CENVAT credit and refund...

Where No Tax Evasion Is Alleged, Liberal Approach Warranted in Transitional ITC Case: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently observed that a bona fide mistake committed by a taxpayer while filing revised TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 forms cannot justify denial of transitional Input Tax Credit, especially in the absence of any allegation of tax evasion.TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 are statutory forms under Section 140 of the CGST Act through which taxpayers carried forward eligible input tax credit from the pre-GST regime into GST."However, I am of the view that, when it comes to a case where no evasion of...

Non-Declaration Of Gold At Green Channel Not Always Smuggling: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that in a case of non-declaration of gold at the Green Channel which does not amount to smuggling, absolute confiscation may be disproportionate and redemption on payment of fine may be permitted.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed,“The release is permitted only upon payment of redemption fine and penalty, along with applicable duty. The orders under challenge therefore do not condone the violation and instead...

Voluntary Statements To Customs Officers Can Sustain Conviction: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently reiterated that statements recorded by Customs officers under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, constitute substantive evidence and can sustain a conviction if shown to be voluntary. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta reaffirmed the Gujarat High Court's judgment holding that, “Statements recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 by duly authorized Customs Officers are admissible in evidence and do not attract the bar...