Tax
Tax Searches, Digital Data And Privacy Concerns
The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification on the Income-tax Rules, 2026 on March 20, 2026. The Rules will come into effect on April 1, 2026. The Rules were framed under the Income-tax Act, 2025, and they implement search and seizure powers provided in Section 247. As we approach a new system, an extension of search and seizure powers in the digital sphere sparks an...
Supreme Court Dismisses IT Dept Challenge To Quashing Of Reassessment Notice Against NDTV Holding Company
The Supreme Court today dismissed the Income Tax Department's appeal against the Delhi High Court judgment which had quashed reassessment proceedings against RRPR Holdings Private Limited, a company owned by NDTV promoters Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy.A bench of Justice PS Narsimha and Justice Alok Aradhe dismissed the appeal on the ground of delay.In 2009, RRPR Holdings took a loan from...
Doctrinally Correct But Institutionally Problematic Approach To Kolhapur HC Bench Jurisdiction
Recently, the Bombay High Court has held that despite creation of a circuit bench, the principal seat will continue to retain jurisdiction. Apart from the legal impact, this decision is going to have wider repercussions for the cases which have been transferred or were due to be transferred to the circuit bench Kolhapur.The Order dated March 06, 2026, delivered by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Shekhar Champalal Pagaria & Ors. v. CFM Assets Reconstruction Pvt. Ltd. & Ors....
Allahabad High Court Summons Husband's ITRs To Determine Income, Remands Matter To Trial Court To Decide DV Case
Recently, the Allahabad High Court summoned the income tax returns of a woman's husband for ascertaining his income.In proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, the wife-applicant had filed an application seeking production of the income tax returns of the husband as he had disputed being an architect and claimed to be a labour. The Trial Court rejected the application under Section 91 of...
Wife Can't Seek Husband's IT Returns Under RTI Act For Maintenance Proceedings, Exempt Under 'Personal Information': Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that a spouse cannot obtain the Income Tax Returns and financial records of the other spouse through an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, as such information constitutes 'personal information' under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, exempt from disclosure."…The details disclosed by a person in his income tax returns are...
Karnataka HC Issues 'Gender Neutral' Guidelines To Obtain Spouse's Financial Records In Maintenance Cases, Says RTI Act Cannot Be Utilised
The Karnataka High Court has recently issued uniform guidelines to be followed in 'maintenance' cases to apply for the financial records of their spouse, instead of resorting to the RTI Act.Earlier, the single judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj held in the same order that a spouse cannot obtain the Income Tax Returns and financial records of the other spouse through an application under...
Evidentiary Value Of E-Way Bills In Commercial Disputes
Commercial transactions in India underwent significant changes after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (hereinafter referred as 'GST'). One such major change was the introduction of E-Way Bill System. In simple terms, an E-Way Bill records movement of goods exceeding Rs. 50,000/- in a digital form. E-Way Bills are governed by Rule 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules,...
Union Budget 2026-27 And Access To Medicines
The Union Budget 2026-27 made two major announcements regarding medicines. First, it removed basic customs duty (BCD) on 17 cancer medicines. Second, it extended import duty exemptions to seven additional rare diseases for personal imports of drugs, medicines, and Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP). This is the third consecutive budget announcing BCD exemptions. In 2024, the BCD...
Asset Reconstruction Companies In India: High-Handedness, Judicial Reckoning, And Regulatory Reform
Anyone of us who have appeared before a Debt Recovery Tribunal, a High Court, or the NCLT in a Non-Performing Asset matter has, at some point, encountered an Asset Reconstruction Company on the other side of the record. They arrived with an ambitious mandate: to clean the Indian banking system's distressed debt backlog through professional, non-adjudicatory enforcement, free from the delays that frustrated bank-led recovery for decades. The Narasimham Committee I (1991) and Narasimham Committee...
'Marketing Labels Not Decisive For Tax Classification', Supreme Court Holds Rooh Afza Taxable As Fruit Drink
Observing that marketing labels cannot dictate a product's tax category, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 25) held 'Rooh Afza' to be a fruit-based beverage preparation intended for dilution, qualifying for a concessional tax rate of 4%, despite it being marketed as a 'Sharbat', which attracts a higher tax rate of 12.5%. “…once it is demonstrated that the product is a...