Tax
Customs Act | Gujarat High Court Reiterates Mandatory Cross-Examination Under Section 138B, Quashes Penalty Order
The Gujarat High Court has held that reliance on statements of witnesses without allowing the manufacturer opportunity to cross‑examine, while ignoring those statements that testified in favour of the manufacturer, violates principles of natural justice. In a judgment delivered on November 25, 2025 Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi quashed the penalty order and culled-out 8 quintessential features of Section 138B of the Customs Act, 1962, particularly, clauses (a ) and (b)...
Hotelier Liable To 18% GST Not 28% On Supply Of Carbonated Beverages, For Dine-In/Room Service : West Bengal AAR
The West Bengal Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that supply of restaurant services, including the supply of aerated beverages, would be taxable at the rate of 18% GST. In a ruling by Shri. Shafeeq S (Member- Central Tax) and Shri. Jaydip Kumar Chakrabarti (Member-State Tax) examined the two kinds of supply of Aerated Drinks viz. (i) With food (shown separately in bill and (ii) Individually (only aerated water). The West Bengal AAR considering the 'factual matrix' observed...
Income Tax | Foreign Companies' Head Office Expenses For Indian Business Subject To Deduction Limit Under S. 44C : Supreme Court
In a set-back to foreign companies doing business operations in India, the Supreme Court on Monday (December 15) held that all head office expenditure incurred by them outside India, whether common or exclusively for their Indian business operations, must be subjected to the statutory ceiling prescribed under Section 44C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, thereby ruling out any claim for full deduction.A Bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan allowed the Revenue's appeal and...
GST | Allahabad High Court Grants Stay On Composite Show Cause Notice For Multiple Assessment Years
Recently, the Allahabad High Court has granted stay on composite show cause notice issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence where multiple assessment years have been clubbed in one show cause notice. Petitioner approached the High Court against a single show cause notice issued by the Additional Director, Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Ghaziabad for tax period starting from August 2019 to September 2023. It was pleaded that the same could not be done as each tax...
Service Tax | Tax Paid Under Wrong Service Category Cannot Be Demanded Again: CESTAT Mumbai
The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside a service tax demand raised against the assesse, holding that once service tax has already been paid under the Reverse Charge Mechanism, merely under a wrong service category, the department cannot demand the same tax again.A Bench comprising Dr. Suvendu Kumar Pati (Judicial Member) allowed the assessee's appeal and quashed the order passed by the Commissioner (Appeals), granting...
Income Tax Act | Mechanical Approval U/S 153D Vitiates Proceedings; Bombay High Court Dismisses Revenue's Appeal
The Bombay High Court has dismissed an income tax appeal filed by the Revenue, holding that an approval granted under Section 153D of the Act, which does not reflect even minimal application of mind, is vitiated in law and renders the consequential proceedings invalid. A Division Bench of Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Advait M. Sethna, while deciding an appeal, answered the substantial question of law against the Revenue i.e. Whether an approval granted under Section 153D of the Income...
Tax Weekly Round-Up: December 08 - December 14, 2025
SUPREME COURTIncome Tax | Statutory Corporation Can Claim Deduction Under S 36(1)(viii) Only For Income Directly Derived From Long-Term Finance : Supreme CourtCause Title: NATIONAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION VERSUS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAXThe Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 10) held that any income earned by a statutory corporation outside its core activity of providing long-term finance for industrial, agricultural, or infrastructure development in India cannot qualify...
Income Tax Act | GST Would Not Form Part Of Gross Receipts Under Section 44BB: ITAT Mumbai
The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected by a non-resident assessee cannot be included in gross receipts for computing presumptive income under Section 44BB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. A Bench comprising Vikram Singh Yadav (Accountant Member) and Sandeep Singh Karhail (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal filed by the assessee, Oceaneering International GmbH for Assessment Year 2023–24 and directed the Assessing...
Service Tax Cannot Be Levied On Membership & Participation Fees Paid To Foreign Associations Before 01.07.2012: CESTAT Chennai
The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that service tax cannot be levied on membership and participation fees paid to foreign associations such as International Packaging Group (IPG) or International Packaging Forum Network (IPFN) for the period prior to 01.07.2012. P. Dinesha (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri (Technical Member) stated that the demand for the period prior to 1.7.2012 on IPG/IFPN is unsustainable as there was no...
Customs | Import Duty Must Be Determined At Time Of Import, Not On Later Sale Price: CESTAT Chennai
The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that customs duty is required to be assessed on the transaction value declared at the time of import, as reflected in the supplier's invoice. Any subsequent sale or higher remittance made after the import cannot be relied upon to reject the declared value. P. Dinesha (Judicial Member) and Vasa Seshagiri Rao (Technical Member) examined whether the addition under the guise of short-payment of duty,...
Customs | Face Recognition Access Control Systems Qualify As Automatic Data Processing Machines; NIL Duty Benefit Allowed: CESTAT Kolkata
The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Face Recognition Access Control Systems perform data processing functions, such as data storage, read-write memory operations and automated processing, and therefore qualify as an Automatic Data Processing Machine under CTH 8471. The bench clarified that these systems are eligible for NIL customs duty exemption. R. Muralidhar (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) noted that...
Bank Not 'Assessee In Default' For Not Deducting TDS On Interest After Accepting Form 15H From Senior Citizens: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court held that once a bank accepts valid Form 15H declarations from senior citizen depositors under Section 197A(1C) of the Income Tax Act, it cannot be treated as an “assessee in default” for non-deductions of TDS (deduct tax at source) on interest income. Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon examined whether the bank (appellant) has to be treated as an assessee in default for failure to deduct TDS on interest income paid to senior citizens who have ...