Tax
MP High Court Imposes ₹2 Lakh Cost On Tobacco Company For Stalling GST Proceedings
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has imposed ₹2 lakh costs on an Indore-based tobacco company for attempting to stall the proceedings initiated against it by the GST authorities.The company came came under the scanner of the Director General of GST Intelligence back in May 2020, following an investigation into large-scale tax evasion in the pan masala and tobacco industry in Indore.The probe allegedly uncovered a tax evasion racket exceeding ₹200 crore involving Elora Tobacco Company Limited, the...
Customs Act | Excel Sheet Recovered From Assessee's Email Can Be Relied Upon For Valuation Even Without S.138C Certificate: CESTAT
The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that an Excel sheet recovered from the email account of the assessee can be relied upon to determine the value of imported goods, even without a certificate under Section 138C of the Customs Act, 1962. Section 138C of the Customs Act, 1962 would apply if the information is printed from a computer, and the certificate should certify that the computer was being used for the purpose of business...
CBDT Extends Deadlines For Filing Of Income Tax Return In Audit Cases For A.Y. 2025-26
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due date of furnishing of the Return of Income and tax audit reports for the Assessment Year (A.Y.) 2025-26.The revised due dates for submitting audit reports and Income Tax Returns are November 10, 2025 and December 10, 2025, respectively. The CBDT announced that the due date for furnishing the Income Tax Return under Section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, for the assessees who have to get their accounts audited, has been extended from...
Mumbai ITAT Quashes ₹445 Crore Transfer Pricing Adjustment Against Netflix India
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai has recently set aside a Rs 445 crore transfer pricing adjustment on Netflix India for financial year 2021-22, rejecting the Revenue's claim that the company, as a licensee of its streamed content, owed higher taxes.The authorities had imposed the tax because they treated Netflix India, the Indian arm of US-based streaming giant Netflix, as a licensee of Netflix US's intellectual property. They claimed the company owed deemed royalty and license...
AO Cannot Rely Solely On Sales Tax Dept Data To Add Bogus Purchases Without Granting Cross-Examination: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that the Assessing Officer (AO) cannot rely solely on Sales Tax Department Data for an income tax addition without granting cross-examination.Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe stated that, "when the VAT assessment was pending adjudication, merely relying on the information of the Sales Tax Department without granting an opportunity to the Assessee to even cross-examine the hawala purchasers to confirm the purchases from them violated the basic facts of...
Advance Received Towards Sale Of Land Not Liable To Service Tax: CESTAT
The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that the amount of advance received by the assessee with respect to the sale of land is out of the scope of applicability of the provisions of the Finance Act, and hence, no service tax is leviable. Dr. Rachna Gupta (Judicial Member) and A.K. Jyotishi (Technical Member) stated that the assessee has successfully established that the activity undertaken with reference to the amount in question...
Crowd-Sourced Information Available On Platforms Like Wikipedia Cannot Be Relied Upon To Fasten Tax Liability: CESTAT
The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that crowd-sourced information available on platforms like Wikipedia cannot be relied upon to fasten tax liability on the assessee. The Tribunal opined that Wikipedia is an open source information available online and anyone can write about the topic and anyone else can edit it. Thereafter, somebody else can further edit it. It is not the opinion of any one expert but is only crowd-sourced...
CGST Rules | GST Registration Can Be Restored After Expiry Of Revocation Period If Rule 22(4) Conditions Are Fulfilled: Gauhati High Court
The Gauhati High Court has held that GST Registration can be restored even after expiry of the revocation period if the assessee complies with Rule 22(4) CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax Rules), 2017 requirements. The Single Bench, consisting of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, opined that if the assessee submits such an application and complies with all the requirements as provided in the proviso to Rule 22(4) of CGST Rules, 2017, the concerned authority shall consider the application...
Renting/Leasing Residential Premises For Use As Residence Exempt From GST: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that GST cannot be levied on renting/ leasing of residential premises for use as residence.Justice Sachin Datta clarified thus while dealing with a plea to quash an order passed by the Collector of Stamps directing the petitioner to pay allegedly deficient stamp duty on a lease deed executed with a private company, in respect of a residential property in city's Vasant Vihar area.As per the Collector, stamp duty was deficient due to purported applicability of GST.The...
Automobile Dealers Association Moves Supreme Court Over Compensation Cess Lapse After GST 2.0 Reforms, Claims Loss Of Rs.2500 Cr
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Association has moved the Supreme Court seeking relief related to compensation cess input tax credit worth Rs.2500 crores, which stands locked in dealers ledgers as a consequence of recent revision in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework.Briefly put, a notification issued on September 17 scrapped the compensation cess on motor vehicles. This was done, as per the FADA, "without providing any transitional or refund mechanism". Therefore, dealers'...
S.263 Income Tax Act Can Be Invoked When AO Fails To Address Core Issue In Assessment Order: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court held that Section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, can be invoked where the Assessing Officer (AO) fails to address a core issue in the assessment order. The bench opined that the main issue does not appear to have been addressed by the assessing authority while issuing an order under Section 143(3) of the Act. Since the assessment order does not appear to have addressed the issue with reference to the competing provisions, exercise of the power under Section 263...
Income Tax Commissioner's Order For Reopening Assessment U/S 151 Income Tax Act Can Be In Words "Yes, I Am Convinced": Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that the Income Tax Commissioner's order granting sanction under Section 151 of the Income Tax Act 1961 for reopening assessment after four years of the relevant Assessment Year (AY) can be in the words— “Yes, I am convinced”.Section 151(1) of the Act categorically provides that no notice for reassessment shall be issued under Section 148 by the Assessing Officer (AO), after expiry of four years from the end of the relevant AY, unless the Commissioner is satisfied...