Company’s Income Cannot Be Assessed Under ‘Salary’: ITAT

The Hyderabad Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that since the assessee is a company, its income cannot be assessed under the heading "salary."The bench of K. Narasimha Chary (a judicial member) has restored the issue to the file of the Assessing Officer to verify the availability of brought-forward losses for the purpose of setting off the current year's income against losses.The assessee is a private company that filed a return of income for the assessment year...

Expiry Of E-way Bill Does Not Create Any Scope For Tax Evasion: Madras High Court Imposes Minor Penalty

The Madras High Court has imposed a minor penalty and held that the expiry of the E-way bill does not create any scope for evasion.The single bench of Justice M. Sunder has observed that assuming there was no breakdown and assuming the portal was active, the maximum penalty would be Rs. 5,000.A truck that was carrying a consignment described as "Angles" from Gummidipoondi to Ranipet was intercepted in the wee hours, i.e., at about 4 a.m. at the Walaja toll. Following the interception, the...

Excise Duty Not Payable On Test Production: CESTAT

The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that excise duty is not payable on test production.The bench of Anil Choudhary (Judicial Member) has observed that the appellant/assessee has done only test production prior to November 11, 2010, and they have been doing mainly trading of finished goods as the factory was not fully set up at the testing stage.The appellant/assessee is in the business of trading and manufacturing aluminum circles falling...

Search And Seizure Of Cash And Jewellery By ED Without Recording The ‘Reasons To Believe’: Telangana High Court Quashes Seizure

The Telangana High Court has set aside the search and seizure of cash and jewellery by ED as it was done without recording the "reasons to believe."The single bench of Justice K. Sarath has observed that the Additional Director of the Enforcement Directorate without recording the "reasons to believe" issued a search warrant/authorisation to his subordinates.The Deputy Director of the Enforcement recorded the reasons to believe without any date and time, which clearly shows that without following...

“Activation Charges” Of Equipment/Software Features Covered Under The Activity Of Sales Of Goods, Not “Service”: CESTAT

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the “activation charges” of equipment/ software features are covered under the activity of sales of goods and not covered under the provisions of “Service”.The two-member bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and Raju (Technical Member) has observed that if the software whether customized or non-customised satisfies the Rules as a “goods‟, it will also be “goods‟ for the purpose of Sales tax. Goods...

GST Registration Cancelled Without Granting Opportunity Of Personal Hearing: Patna High Court Quashes Order

The Patna High Court has held that the GST registration was canceled without granting him the opportunity of a personal hearing.The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Partha Sarthy has quashed the GST cancellation order and held that the authority ought to have at least referred to the contents of the show cause and the response thereto, which was not done. Not only is the order non-speaking, but it is also cryptic in nature, and the reason for cancellation is not...

Benefit Under SVLDRS Scheme Cant Be Denied Based On Dept. Decision To File Appeal: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held that the benefit under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS scheme), cannot be denied by the designated committee for the reason that the department has decided to file an appeal against the order.The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Deepak Roshan has observed that the Designated Committee traveled beyond the purview of the Scheme and acted in a wholly illegal and arbitrary manner by denying the...

Onus is On The Customs Department To Prove That The Goods are Smuggled: CESTAT

The Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the onus is on the Customs Department to lead evidence in support of an allegation as to the smuggled nature of goods.The bench of Anil Choudhary (a judicial member) has directed the department to release the goods within a period of 15 days. The appellant shall not be liable for payment of godown rent, detention charges, or demurrage.The appellant/assessee are traders engaged in the trading of...

Failure Of Taxpayer To Disclose Fully: Gujarat High Court Refuses To Quash Reassessment

The Gujarat High Court has refused to quash the reassessment because the taxpayer has not truly and fully disclosed the material.The division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri observed that if the petitioner or assessee was not remedial and has now questioned the issuance of a notice, he is required by law to cooperate with the authority in the adjudication process. When the authority ultimately passes any adverse order, the entire remedy created under the special...

GSTN Issues Advisory On Taxpayers Facing Issue In Filing GSTR-3B

The Goods and Service Tax Networks (GSTN) has issued an advisory on taxpayers facing issues in filing GSTR-3B.The filing of TRAN forms was made available for aggrieved taxpayers between 01.10.2022 and 30.11.2022, in accordance with the Supreme Court's directive.It has been noted that a small number of taxpayers have started the filing process for TRAN forms on the portal but have not finished it within the allotted time. The only step that required an e-sign was filing after submitting the Tran...

VAT Department Not To Initiate Coercive Measures Against PSU Pawan Hans: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has granted a stay to helicopter charterer PSU Pawan Hans Ltd. against a VAT demand of Rs. 176 crores.The division bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan has observed that the issue needs consideration and directed the VAT department not to initiate coercive measures for recovery of the VAT demand confirmed by the Delhi VAT Tribunal in the interim.The appellant/assessee stated that it is in the business of chartering helicopters and has entered into...

CBDT Circulars Can’t Prescribe Limitation To Decide Application For Compounding Of Offence: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that orders, instructions or directions issued by the CBDT under Section 119 or under the Explanation to Section 279 (6) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cannot put fetters on the power of income tax authorities under Section 279(2) to consider an application for compounding of offence, by prescribing a period of limitation. The bench of Justices Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Valmiki SA Menezes, took note that Section 279 (2) of the Income Tax Act, which provides...