Income Tax Act | Deputy Commissioner Cannot Act Beyond DRP Directions; Assessment After S.144C(13) Time Limit Invalid: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court stated that the Deputy Commissioner cannot act beyond the dispute resolution panel (DRP) directions; assessment completed beyond Section 144C(13) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the time limit is invalid. Section 144C(13) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 mandates the completion of the assessment within one month from the end of the month in which DRP directions are received. Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Amit S. Jamsandekar stated that the Deputy Commissioner cannot...

Property Tax Is First Charge On Property; Auction Purchaser Liable To Pay It Before Sale: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that property tax is a first charge on property and the auction purchaser is liable to pay property tax prior to sale. The bench stated that where a statutory first charge is created on the property, such as in respect of property tax under Section 232 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, the municipal authority is entitled to enforce such charge independently in accordance with the statutory mechanism provided therein. In such a situation,...

IRCTC's Food Plaza Licenses Not 'Renting Of Immovable Property': CESTAT Quashes ₹2.88 Crore Service Tax Demand

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), New Delhi, recently held that the arrangement between Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) and private vendors for operating Food Plazas at railway premises does not amount to 'renting of immovable property' and, thus, does not attract service tax under that category.A two-member coram comprising Judicial Member Binu Tamta and Technical Member P V Subba Rao held that the agreements were not lease...

Tax Weekly Round-Up: October 06 - October 12, 2025

SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Issues Notice To IndiGo On Plea Of Customs Dept & GST Council Against Ruling On IGST Exemption For Imported PartsCase : Principal Commissioner of Customs Acc (Import) and others v. Interglobe Aviation LtdCase no.: Diary No. 49140-2025The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from IndiGo's parent company, InterGlobe Aviation, on a petition filed by the Customs Department challenging a Delhi High Court ruling that exempted the airline from paying Integrated Goods...

Income Tax | Manual Filing Of Appeal By NRI Valid For DTVSV Scheme Benefits: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court held that the manual filing of an appeal by an NRI is valid for DTVSV (Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024) Scheme Benefits. Justices Bhargav D. Karia and Pranav Trivedi were addressing the case where the petitioner/assessee has challenged the communication issued by the respondent authorities, whereby the declaration made by the assessee under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 ('DTVSV Scheme, 2024'), is rejected on the ground that the appeal...

Proceedings Under Rule 16/16A Drawback Rules Are Merely Execution Proceedings; Cannot Modify Value In Shipping Bills: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that proceedings under Rule 16/16A Drawback Rules are merely execution proceedings; cannot modify value in shipping bills. Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member) stated that the proceedings to recover the drawback under Rules 16/16A of the Drawback Rules are in the nature of execution proceedings, and they cannot be used to modify the value or any other...

Delhi High Court Dismisses Revenue's Demand Against Casio India In Transfer Pricing Case

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed a transfer pricing demand against Casio India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese watchmaker, related to advertising, marketing and promotion expenses for the assessment year 2017-18The Division Bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Vinod Kumar ruled that the issue had already been settled in Casio's favour in previous years and therefore requires similar treatment. “In fact, our attention has also been drawn to a decision dated 12.09.2025...

Incorrect Declaration In Bill Of Entry Attracts Penalty U/S 114AA Of Customs Act: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member) stated that imports and filing of the Bill of Entry are transactions of business under the Customs Act. Section 114AA would squarely apply to those transactions. In this case, the importer filed a Bill of Entry to clear goods imported by it and self-assessed the duty payable on them. The department examined...

Delhi High Court Directs Registry To Add 'DIN Field' In GST Writ Petitions To Avoid Conflicting Rulings

In order to avoid duplication of GST cases, the Delhi High Court has asked its Registry to add a new field for filing of writ petitions to record DIN (Document Identification Number) and date of order being challenged.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain passed the direction on observing that multiple writ petitions were being filed challenging same impugned orders, especially in cases involving fraudulent availment of ITC (Input Tax Credit).The Court said that in some...

IRCTC's Licensing For Operation Of Food Plazas Not Liable To Service Tax Under 'Renting Of Immovable Property': CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that IRCTC's (Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd.) licensing for the operation of food plazas is not liable to service tax under 'renting of immovable property'. The Tribunal observed that the agreement was purely related to the transaction of business whereby the assessee was actually performing the activity of operation of catering and was not providing any service of...

Tax Quarterly Digest: July - September, 2025

SUPREME COURTStem Cell Banking Services Qualify As "Healthcare Services" In Service Tax Exemption Notification : Supreme CourtCase : M/S. STEMCYTE INDIA THERAPEUTICS PVT. LTD vs COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX, AHMEDABAD - IIICase no.: CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 3816-3817 OF 2025The Supreme Court held that stem cell banking services, including enrolment, collection, processing, and storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells, constitute “Healthcare Services” which were exempted from service...

Govt Examination Board Not Liable To Pay Service Tax On Examination Fees Collected From Candidates: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that the government examination board is not liable to service tax on examination fees collected from candidates. Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) and Sanjiv Srivastava (Technical Member) stated that the examination fees collected from the candidates appearing for the examination being conducted by the appellant/assessee cannot be considered as consideration for the supply of manpower...