Tax
Bombay High Court Sets Aside Order Rejecting Naresh Goyal's Objections In Income Tax Reassessment
The Bombay High Court has recently set aside an order rejecting former Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal's objections to the reopening of his income tax assessment for the Assessment Year 2014-15. It directed the Assessing Officer to reconsider the objections after taking into account Goyal's March 8, 2022 letter and the annexures explaining the source of funds used to acquire Jet Airways (India) Ltd. shares. A division bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh P. Pooniwalla held...
Telangana HC Restores DBS Technology Services' Tax Deduction Claim, Says Technical Lapse Cannot Prevail
The Telangana High Court on 3 July held that the Income Tax Department cannot reject a genuine claim for deduction on the sole ground of a technical or procedural lapse if the taxpayer is otherwise entitled to the benefit. A Division Bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao set aside the order rejecting the deduction claimed by DBS Technology Services India Private Limited and directed the Assessing Officer to reconsider the company's claim in accordance with law. The judges...
CESTAT Delhi Allows Shriram General Insurance's KKC, SBC Refund Claim On Cancelled Insurance Policies
The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi has allowed Shriram General Insurance's claim for refund of ₹28.57 lakh paid towards Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) and Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC) on insurance policies that were subsequently cancelled. The tribunal held that the refund could not be denied on the grounds of limitation or unjust enrichment after the insurer refunded the proportionate premium and tax component. Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member...
Late Corrigendum To Final Assessment Order Cannot Cure Failure To Follow DRP Directions: ITAT Delhi
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has quashed an assessment order passed against an Indian subsidiary of a foreign technology company. The tribunal held that the Assessing Officer could not rectify the failure to give effect to the Dispute Resolution Panel's (DRP) directions by issuing a corrigendum after the statutory time limit had expired. A bench of Judicial Member Raj Kumar Chauhan and Accountant Member S. Rifaur Rahman observed that the final assessment order,...
ITAT Chennai Upholds Deletion Of Unexplained Money Addition Against Forex Commission Agent
The Chennai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has upheld the deletion of an addition of ₹3.44 crore made against an individual who worked as a commission agent for foreign exchange companies. It held that cash withdrawn from the agent's own bank account for disbursal to customers could not be treated as unexplained money under Section 69A of the Income Tax Act, which addresses unexplained assets. The case involved an individual who acted as an authorised sub-agent for...
CESTAT Hyderabad Sets Aside ₹26.60 Lakh Customs Duty Demand, Rules Imported Quicklime Is Not Chemical Product
The Hyderabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed the appeal filed by V I S A Steel Ltd., holding that imported quicklime is classifiable as lime under the Customs Tariff and not under the tariff entry applicable to chemically defined compounds. The tribunal set aside a differential customs duty demand of ₹26.60 lakh, along with the interest and penalty. A bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar observed: ...
CESTAT Hyderabad Sets Aside Excise Demand On Unmachined Castings Used In Wind Turbines
The Hyderabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside an excise duty demand against a manufacturer of unmachined castings.It held that castings specially designed and supplied for use in Wind Operated Electricity Generators (WOEGs) are eligible for excise exemption, even if they require further machining before assembly.A bench of Judicial Member Angad Prasad and Technical Member P. Anjani Kumar held that Notification No. 6/2006-CE applies to...
CESTAT Allahabad Sets Aside Service Tax Demand On Bottle Cleaning and Repacking Done For Liquor Manufacturers
The Allahabad Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a service tax demand of ₹49.70 lakh against a job work service provider. It held that activities such as repacking old bottles, repackaging glass bottles, barcode sticking, and bottle cleaning carried out for liquor manufacturers constituted exempt intermediate production processes under Entry 30(c) of Notification No. 25/2012-ST. The bench of Judicial Member P.K. Choudhary and Technical...
Bombay High Court Orders Registration Of Auction Purchaser's Sale Certificate, Quashes Sales Tax Attachment
The Bombay High Court has directed the Sub-Registrar to register an auction purchaser's sale certificate without insisting on a No Objection Certificate from the Sales Tax Department after finding that the secured creditor's claim took priority over the Department's tax dues. A division bench of Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V. Shirsat granted the relief to Neon Laboratories, which had purchased the property in an auction conducted by a bank under the SARFAESI Act. The court also...
ITAT Delhi Quashes Reassessment After AO Failed To Decide Objections Before Proceeding
The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has recently quashed a reassessment against Meramandali Finvest Ltd., holding that the Assessing Officer was required to dispose of the assessee's objections to the reopening by passing a separate speaking order before proceeding with the reassessment. A bench of Judicial Member Satbeer Singh Godara and Accountant Member Naveen Chandra observed: "It is now settled law by a series of judicial precedents that the failure of the...
CESTAT Hyderabad Allows CENVAT Credit On Concessional CVD, Says Importer Free To Choose Beneficial Exemption
The Hyderabad Bench of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that an importer cannot be compelled to avail a particular exemption notification where more than one option is available. It ruled that the importer is free to choose the notification that is most beneficial. Applying this principle, the tribunal held that India Cements Ltd. was entitled to avail the CENVAT credit of the Countervailing Duty (CVD) paid at the concessional rate of one per cent/two...