The power of GST authorities to conduct search and investigation is an important enforcement mechanism under the Goods and Services Tax law. However, the exercise of such powers is required to remain within the statutory framework and prescribed departmental guidelines. …
The Supreme Court has reiterated an important principle of income tax law: CBDT circulars and administrative instructions may bind tax authorities, but they do not bind constitutional courts while interpreting the Income Tax Act. In Orient Crafts Limited v. Commissioner of Income …
The Delhi High Court has upheld the validity of the GST mechanism that permits common adjudication of composite Show Cause Notices (SCNs) involving multiple noticees falling under different jurisdictions. The Court has also upheld the criterion under which the officer having jurisdiction …
The Bombay High Court has held that an income-tax penalty cannot be sustained merely because a taxpayer’s expenditure claim is subsequently reduced pursuant to a position agreed under an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA). The Court observed that treating such a reduction …
Punjab & Haryana High Court directs income tax authorities to adopt a liberal approach while considering genuine hardship in condoning delay in filing returns, particularly where CBDT circulars apply. Introduction The Punjab and Haryana High Court has reiterated that income …
Allahabad High Court directs SBI to refund ₹19.90 lakh debited from a widow’s fixed deposit towards her deceased husband’s loan, along with interest and ₹1 lakh compensation. Introduction In an important ruling concerning banking law, recovery of loans and protection of …
The Supreme Court has clarified an important aspect of income tax reassessment proceedings by holding that an Assessing Officer (AO) cannot reopen matters that have already attained finality through an order of the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC). In Assistant Commissioner …
The Delhi High Court has directed the Central Government to decide a representation challenging the September 21, 2026 deadline for private individuals, professionals and commercial entities to migrate from FIPS 140-2 cryptographic tokens to the newer FIPS 140-3 standard for …
The Rajasthan High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of Section 16(2)(c) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act), which makes the actual payment of tax by the supplier to the Government an essential condition for the …
In a significant legal development for corporate and individual taxpayers, the Bombay High Court has issued a major interim directive to the Income Tax Department. The High Court has instructed Assessing Officers not to move forward with reassessment proceedings against …
The Patna High Court has delivered an important ruling on the scope of GST jurisdiction over petroleum products, setting aside a tax demand of approximately ₹1.25 crore imposed on a petroleum dealer. The Court found that the assessment appeared to …
The Madras High Court has emphasised an important principle concerning the interaction between GST proceedings and Income Tax reassessment. The Court has held that an Income Tax authority cannot simply rely upon the findings of a GST adjudication order while …
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi Bench, has reaffirmed an important procedural safeguard available to foreign companies and other eligible taxpayers under Section 144C of the Income-tax Act. The Tribunal held that where the Assessing Officer proposes a variation in …
The landscape of Goods and Services Tax (GST) litigation in India underwent a tectonic shift following the enactment of the Finance Act. By introducing a mandatory 10% pre-deposit for penalty-only appeals, the legislature effectively plugged a long-standing loophole. Historically, the …
The Gujarat High Court has delivered an important ruling on GST exemption for environmental protection activities, holding that services undertaken by an eligible charitable entity for treatment and management of industrial effluent can qualify for a Nil GST rate where the activities fall …
The Bombay High Court has reaffirmed an important principle governing reassessment proceedings under the Income Tax Act: an assessment cannot ordinarily be reopened merely because the Assessing Officer later takes a different view on an issue that was already examined during …
The Karnataka High Court has delivered an important ruling on GST payments made during investigation, inspection and search proceedings, holding that payments made by a taxpayer during an investigation cannot automatically be treated as voluntary merely because they were deposited through …
The Bombay High Court has held that an income tax assessment order cannot be sustained when the underlying revision order under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act has already been quashed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The Court clarified …
The Delhi High Court has declined to exercise its writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution in a batch of petitions challenging GST proceedings and penalty orders, holding that objections relating to the competence and jurisdiction of GST officers can be …
The Delhi High Court has delivered an important ruling on double taxation of the same income, holding that an assessee cannot be compelled to bear tax twice on identical income merely because of an inadvertent reporting error. The Court observed that tax …