Clarificatory Circular Operates Retrospectively And Does Not Bring Anything New: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has reiterated that a circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs [CBEC] which only clarifies the CBEC's original instructions and does not bring anything new is clarificatory in nature and operates retrospectively. The Single Bench of Justice Devashis Baruah held that the exceptions enumerated in the clarificatory circular issued by CBEC, that enumerated exceptions with respect to holding pre-show cause notice consultation, would operate...

Due Date For Filing GST PMT-06 Extended To 24 May, 2022: CBIC

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes And Customs (CBIC) has extended the due date for filing GST PMT-06 for the month of April, 2022, till May 24, 2022, owing to a technical glitch.The due date for filing FORM GSTR-3B for the month of April, 2022 has been extended till May 24, 2022.CBIC acknowledged that a technical glitch has been reported by Infosys in the generation of April GSTR-2B and auto-population of GSTR-3B on the portal.The CBIC tweeted, "Infosys has been directed by the Govt for early...

Non Consideration Of Detailed Reply To Show Cause Notice Submitted After Stipulated Time, Delhi High Court Quashes Reassessment Order

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma has quashed the reassessment order, alleging income of more than Rupees one lakh crore having escaped assessment on the grounds of violation of natural justice.The petitioner/assessee has submitted that the order under Section 148A (d) of the Income Tax Act was passed without considering the replies filed by the petitioner to the show cause notice. The petitioner filed a preliminary response to the show...

GST Council Has Unequal Voting Structure, Can Be An Avenue For Political Contestation : Supreme Court

While holding that the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax(GST) Council are not binding on the Centre and the States, the Supreme Court has highlighted the unequal voting structure and the possibility of political contestations in the Council.The Court noted that the recommendations of the GST Council are not based on a unanimous decision but on a three-fourth majority of the members present and voting, where the Union's vote counts as one-third, while the States' votes have a...

The Unfortunate Invocation Of Article 142 - Supreme Court Decision On The Reassessment Notices

The recent topic of debate has been qua the judgement recently delivered by a division bench of the Supreme Court, authored by Hon'ble Justice M.R. Shah. In the judgment titled Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal[1], in a batch of 24 Appeals, the Supreme Court modified/reversed the 6 High Courts' ruling wherein all the High Courts had quashed the reassessment notices issued by the government/revenue department under Section 148 holding them to be illegal/ultra vires/bad in law in view of the...

GST Council Recommendations Not Binding On Parliament & State Legislatures : Supreme Court

In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that the recommendations of the GST council are not binding on the Parliament and State Legislatures.Though some of the recommendations of the GST council are binding on the Union and State Governments in relation to tax rate and taxable goods etc., by virtue of the provisions of the GST Act, it cannot mean that all recommendations are binding on the Parliament and the State Legislatures. "Even if it is Parliament that has enacted...

Loss On Trading In Derivatives Of Securities Not A Speculative Loss, Can Be Set Off Against Business Income: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that transactions in respect of trading in derivatives carried out in a recognized stock exchange are excluded from the definition of "speculation transaction" under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Bench, consisting of Justices R.D. Dhanuka and S.G. Mehare, held that an assessee is thus entitled to claim set off of the loss suffered by it in the said transactions in derivatives against its business income. The Court added that the explanatory notes on the...

Assessment Can't Be Reopened On Mere Change Of Opinion Of AO: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court, while quashing the reassessment notice, held that the assessment could not be reopened on a mere change of opinion of the Assessing Officer (AO). The division bench of Justice K.R. Shriram and Justice N.R. Borkar observed that the reopening of assessment was merely on the basis of a change of opinion of the Assessing Officer from that held earlier during the course of assessment proceedings and this change of opinion does not constitute justification and/or reason...

Delhi High Court Directs Designated Committee To Manually Process Payments Of Assessee Under SVLDR Scheme

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Poonam A. Bamba has directed the designated committee to manually process payments of an assessee under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 (SVLDRS). The petitioner/assessee, while taking recourse to the SVLDRS to avail the benefits provided, had attempted to remit the "amount declared" electronically. The only reason remittance could not go through was that there was a miniscule discrepancy between...

No Further Verification Required If Cash Deposit Is Up To Rs 2.5 Lakhs During The Demonetization: ITAT Delhi

The Delhi Bench of ITAT, consisting of judicial member Chandra Mohan Garg, has held that no further verification is required in the case of an individual earning income from salary, who has deposited an amount of up to Rs 2,50,000 during the demonetization period. The assessee Aniket Agarwal filed his income tax return, which was selected for limited scrutiny to verify the cash deposited by the assessee during the demonetization period. The assessee explained the source of cash deposits...

AO & PCIT Failed To Consider Balance Of Convenience And Irreparable Injury While Deciding The Stay Application: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma has held that neither the Assessing Officer nor the Principal Commissioners of Income Tax (PCIT) have considered the three basic principles, i.e., the prima facie case, balance of convenience, and irreparable injury, while deciding the stay application. The petitioner company/assessee filed an application for a stay of demand under Section 220(6) of the Income Tax Act for the assessment years 2013-14 to...

Government Notifies Relaxation In Wheat Export Notification

The government has announced some relaxation to its order dated 13th May issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on restricting wheat exports. The government decided that wherever wheat consignments have been handed over to Customs for examination and have been registered into their systems on or prior to 13.5.2022, such consignments would be allowed to be exported. The authorities permitted the loading of a wheat shipment bound for Egypt at the Kandla port. The...