Tax
Calcutta High Court Sets Aside GST Demand Over Reliance On Undisclosed Back Portal Data
The Calcutta High Court recently set aside a GST demand raised against a transport company after holding that the tax department relied on undisclosed back-office data.Justice O.M. Narayan Rai held that the tax department relied on “data available in GST B.O. portal”, leaving the petitioner without an effective opportunity to respond. The court focused on the manner in which the demand was raised in this case. It noted that the show-cause notices were founded on figures drawn from the GST...
Free Materials In Works Contracts Pre-July 2009 Excludible From Service Tax: CESTAT Ahmedabad
On 15 January, the Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that the value of free materials provided under an indivisible Works Contract cannot be included in taxable value for service tax purposes for contracts executed before 7 July 2009. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Mr. Satendra Vikram Singh set aside the portion of the service tax demand calculated on 933.355 MT of steel, valued at Rs....
Realty Company's Sale of Long-Held Freehold Land Is Capital Gains Not Business Income: Madras Court
The Madras High Court has held that profits earned from the sale of decades-old freehold land must be taxed as capital gains and not as business income, rejecting the income tax department's attempt to treat the transaction as part of a real estate business. A division bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar said the record clearly showed that the land was held as a long-term asset and was sold without any development or trading activity. "The accounts reveal that the...
Karnataka High Court Refuses Daughter's Plea For Parents' Interim Bail In GST Evasion Case
The Karnataka High Court has declined to grant interim bail to a husband and wife arrested in a GST enforcement action, holding that the case did not present circumstances warranting the court's intervention at the writ stage. A Single Judge Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna, in an order pronounced on January 12, noted that the court did not find any illegality in the manner of arrest and that statutory remedies for seeking bail were already available under criminal law. “Therefore, the facts in...
Kopiko Is Sugar Confectionery, Not Coffee-Based Product; 6%, Not 12%, Excise Duty Applies: CESTAT Hyderabad
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Hyderabad, answering a reference made after conflicting rulings by its Hyderabad and Ahmedabad benches, has held that Kopiko, the coffee-flavored candy sold in India, is classifiable as sugar confectionery under the central excise tariff and not as a coffee-based preparation. As a result, the product falls under tariff heading 1704 9090, which attracts 6% excise duty, and not under heading 2101 1200, which carries a 12% duty. The...
Limitation Plea Can Be Raised At Any Stage As Long As Facts Are On Record: Madras High Court
In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court held that a belated plea of limitation cannot be entertained where the factual foundation necessary to examine such a plea is absent on record. The ruling came from a bench of Justice Dr. Anita Sumanth and Justice P Dhanabal while dismissing an appeal filed by Modern Engineering & Plastics Pvt. Ltd. The court noted that "Normally, limitation, if it were to be a pure question of law may be raised at any stage of the proceeding, and it would not...
CBIC Revises Tariff Values For Gold, Silver, Edible Oils And Brass Scrap
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has updated tariff values for edible oils, brass scrap, gold, silver and areca nuts. By a notification issued on 15 January 2026, the CBIC notified revised tariff values effective from 16 January 2026, fixing the tariff value of gold at USD 1,483 per 10 grams and silver at USD 2,950 per kilogram. The CBIC has also notified that there is no change in the tariff value of areca nuts falling under tariff item 080280. Further, revised tariff...