Tax Weekly Round-Up: December 15 - December 21, 2025

SUPREME COURTIncome Tax | Foreign Companies' Head Office Expenses For Indian Business Subject To Deduction Limit Under S. 44C : Supreme CourtCause Title: DIRECTOR OF INCOME TAX (IT)-I, MUMBAI. VERSUS M/S. AMERICAN EXPRESS BANK LTD. (and connected case)In a set-back to foreign companies doing business operations in India, the Supreme Court on Monday (December 15) held that all head...

Performance Incentives Earned By Advertising Agency From Media Firms Not Taxable: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that the incentives received by an advertising agency from media firms for achieving benchmark targets is not susceptible to levy of service tax.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“An advertising agency primarily books slots on electronic media and books space in the print media on behalf of its clients. The...

Income Tax Act | ITAT Mumbai Grants Major Tax Relief To Vodafone; Deletes Depreciation, TDS & S.14A Disallowances

The Mumbai Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has held that multiple additions made by the Assessing Officer could not be sustained in law. The Bench held that the transfer of passive telecom tower assets pursuant to a court-approved demerger amounted to a genuine “gift” under Section 47(iii), and the Assessing Officer could not artificially impute consideration...

Digitalisation, GIS Mapping And Tech Consultancy For Jal Jeevan Mission Are 'Pure Services', Exempt From GST: West Bengal AAR

The West Bengal Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that digitalisation, GIS mapping, monitoring, data management and technical consultancy services provided to the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in connection with water supply schemes qualify as “pure services” and are exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST) under Notification No. 12/2017. The...

Allahabad High Court Directs Criminal Contempt Against GST Official For Filing Misleading Personal Affidavit

On Thursday, Allahabad High Court directed initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Additional Commissioner, Grade-2(Appeal) First, State Tax, Meerut for filing a misleading personal affidavit before the Court despite being given 2 opportunities. Noting that the impugned order did not show any consideration of the circulars and only quoted a report signed by an...

Non-Filing Of ITR By Creditor Not Proof For Lack Of Creditworthiness: Patna High Court Deletes Income Tax Additions

The Patna High Court has held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was not justified in restoring an addition of ₹1.91 crore under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act after reversing a reasoned order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), where the assessee had produced documentary evidence and the Assessing Officer's remand report did not disclose any adverse material. A...

Levy Of Service Tax On 'Access To Amusement Facilities' Unconstitutional: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that the levy of service tax on 'access to amusement facilities' is unconstitutional, as the entire activity squarely falls within the State's taxing power under Entry 62 of List II (entertainments and amusements) of the Constitution of India.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon stated that the provisions of the Entertainments Tax Act also seek to...

Customs Act | Penalty Cannot Be Sustained Solely On S. 108 Statements Without Compliance Of S. 138B: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that statements recorded under S. 108 of the Customs Act cannot form the basis for imposing penalties unless the mandatory procedural safeguards under Section 138B are complied with.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon opined that Section 138B is essentially in the form of a procedural safeguard regarding the admission of statements under Section 108...

Service Tax | Pairing & Testing Smart-Cards For Set-Top-Boxes Qualifies As Job Work: Bombay High Court Allows Credit

The Bombay High Court has upheld the Mumbai Tribunal's decision allowing Dish TV to retain CENVAT Credit on imported smart cards, which were used for testing and pairing with Set Top Boxes. A Division Bench comprising, Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar dismissed the appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against order by the Mumbai, Customs, Excise and...

LiveLawBiz: Business Law Daily Round-Up: December 20, 2025

TaxCan GST Be Levied On Medicines Supplied During In-Patient Treatment? Delhi High Court To ExamineIncome Tax Act | S.153C Trigger Starts On Handing-Over Date, Not Search Date: Delhi High Court ITC Cannot Be Denied To Purchasing Dealer Solely Due To Retrospective Cancellation Of Supplier's GST Registration: Calcutta High Court GST Not Leviable On Interest/Penalty Charged By Chit Fund...

Central Excise | Packaged Drinking Water Cannot Be Assessed On MRP Basis U/S 4A: CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that packaged drinking water is not liable to be assessed on MRP basis under Section 4A of the Central Excise Act unless it is specifically covered by a statutory notification. Section 4A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, provides a special procedure for the valuation of excisable goods based on...

CENVAT Credit Rules | Only Common Input Service To Be Considered For Calculating Credit For Reversal Under Rule 6(3A): CESTAT Chennai

The Chennai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that while computing the amount of CENVAT credit to be reversed under Rule 6(3A) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, only credit pertaining to common input services is required to be considered. Rule 6(3A) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, provides the specific procedure and formula for determining...