Employees' Contributions Must Be Paid By Due Date Under ESI/EPF Act, Not Income Tax Act: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that an employer can claim deduction of employees' contributions towards Provident Fund or Employer's State Insurance Fund, held by it in trust, only if it deposits these amounts on or before the statutory due date prescribed under the relevant labour law.Section 36(1)(va) of the Income Tax Act, 196 pertains to employees' contribution. It stipulates that deductions towards any sum received by the assessee from any of his employees shall be allowed, if such sum is...

Refund Can't Be Rejected On Grounds Of Classification Once Tax Liability Is Settled: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that refund cannot be rejected on grounds of classification once tax liability is settled. Dr. Rachna Gupta (Judicial Member) and R. Priya (Technical Member) stated that refund under Section 11B of Central Excise Act read with Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994, is permissible subject to two conditions: - the claim should have been raised before one year from the relevant date; and the...

[CGST Act] Tax Officers Expected To Know Law Laid Down By Higher Courts: Allahabad High Court

While calling for personal affidavit from Principal Secretary, Institutional Finance, Government of U.P., Lucknow explaining the conduct of the tax officers in the State in not following the orders of the High Court, the Allahabad High Court observed that the Officers must know the law. Justice Piyush Agrawal observed that “While it is expected from the citizen to know law, the duty of the Officers increases that they should also know the law laid down by the higher courts.” ...

CESTAT Can't Admit Appeal Without Pre-Deposit But High Court Can Waive It In 'Rare' Circumstances: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the provision of pre-deposit for preferring an appeal before the Central Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal is mandatory and the forum has no power to admit any appeal without the same.However, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain further added that the High Court may, in rare circumstances, waive off the said deposit. It observed,“CESTAT does not have the power to admit appeal without the pre-deposit, however, this Court in...

Customs Broker's Failure To Oversee Warehousing Of Re-Export Goods Leading To Sale In Local Market Is 'A Clear Infraction': Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a Customs Broker must diligently perform its responsibilities under the 2018 Licensing Regulations however, any failure thereof must be met with a proportionate punishment.While dealing with a case where the broker's license was suspended due to alleged failure to oversee warehousing of goods meant for re-export, leading to their sale in the domestic market, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“There is no doubt that Customs...

Tax Weekly Round-Up: September 01 - September 07, 2025

SUPREME COURTCustoms Act | Electronic Evidence Admissible Without S.138C(4) Certificate If Assessee's S.108 Statement Admits Contents : Supreme CourtCause Title: ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL ADJUDICATION, DIRECTORATE OF REVENUE INTELLIGENCE VERSUS SURESH KUMAR AND CO. IMPEX PVT. LTD. & ORS.The Supreme Court recently held that electronic evidence seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (“DRI”) can be admissible even without a certificate under Section 138C(4) of the Customs Act, if...

No Refund Of Unutilised ITC On Closure Of Business U/S 54 CGST Act, Must Be Reversed U/S 29(5): Sikkim High Court

The Sikkim High Court stated that no refund of unutilised ITC (Input Tax Credit) on closure of business under section 54 CGST Act (Central Goods and Services Tax), must be reversed under section 29(5). Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017 deals with refund of tax, intertest, or any other amount paid under GST. The refund can be claimed in case of excess tax payment, zero-rated supplies, deemed exports, or unutilised ITC. Section 29(5) of the CGST Act, 2017 provides that when the...

Delhi High Court Orders Customs To Release Padma Bhushan Awardee's Imported Artwork Amidst Dispute Over Valuation

The Delhi High Court has ordered the Customs Department to release the artwork of Padma Bhushan awardee Late BC Sanyal, seized amid a dispute surrounding its valuation.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed there is no conclusive proof that the artwork was made in Pakistan, as claimed by the Department.“The bill of entry itself reveals that the import is being effected from Dubai,” it observed.The Court was dealing with a petition filed by the proprietor of M/s...

Assessee Cannot Be Asked To Prove Non-Occurrence Of Transaction Once Documentary Evidence Is Produced: ITAT

LThe Mumbai Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has stated that the assessee is not required to prove negative once documentary evidence is produced.Section 69C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that if an assessee incurs any expenditure during a financial year and fails to provide a satisfactory explanation, or if the Assessing Officer does not accept the explanation, the amount of such expenditure may be treated as the assessee's deemed income for that year.Amit Shukla (Judicial...

[CGST Act] Absence Of Document Identification Number Doesn't Render Assessment Orders Void: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court held that absence of document identification number doesn't render assessment orders void.The bench consists of Justices R Raghunandan Rao and Sumathi Jagadam were addressing the issue where the assessee/petitioner has challenged the assessment orders passed against him. The main ground for challenge is the lack of a Document Identification Number on the orders, passed by the assessing officers.The assessee submitted that the instructions issued by the Central Board...

Tax Monthly Digest: August 2025

SUPREME COURTLet GST Council Look Into Tracking Of GST Paid On Foreign OIDAR Services : Supreme CourtCase Title – Pradeep Goyal v. Union of India & Ors.Case no. – Writ Petition No. 258 of 2021The Supreme Court recently disposed of a public interest litigation seeking directions for setting up a mechanism to track services provided by foreign entities in India under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice KV Viswanathan passed the order after...

Preloaded Software On Imported Navigation Devices Liable To Customs Duty: CESTAT

The Bangalore Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that value of preloaded software to be included in assessable value of imported navigation devices and is liable to customs duty. Dr. D.M. Misra (Judicial Member) and Pullela Nageswara Rao (Technical Member) were addressing the issue of whether the value of software preloaded/ etched into the imported navigation systems, be included in the assessable value of the said navigation systems and...