S.110 Customs Act | Extension To Issue SCN Must Be Granted Before Expiry Of Initial Six-Month Period: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that the six-month extension contemplated under Section 110 of the Customs Act 1962 for issuance of a show cause notice after detention of goods by the Customs must be issued before expiry of the initial six-month window.For context, Section 110 deals with Seizure of goods. It stipulates that where any goods are seized, and no notice is given within...

GSTAT Drops Proceedings Against Eclat Serum Supplier After DGAP Fails To Trace Gujarat Firm

The GST Appellate Tribunal at Delhi recently dropped anti profiteering proceedings against Shree Suktam Enterprise, a Gujarat supplier in the chain of biotech company S R Lifesciences. The tribunal observed that the Director General of Anti Profiteering (DGAP) was unable to trace the firm or obtain evidence to determine whether the benefit of a 10 percent GST rate reduction on the skin...

'Estimation Theory Doesn't Apply To Sham Purchases': ITAT Mumbai Restores Full Disallowance Of ₹26.49 Lakh

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai has held that where purchases are conclusively proven to be bogus and the assessee fails to substantiate the genuineness of suppliers, the entire purchase amount must be added to income and the benefit of estimating profit element cannot be applied. A Bench of Smt. Beena Pillai (Judicial Member) and Shri Omkareshwar Chidara...

Delhi HC Allows Time-Barred Appeal Against Customs' Confiscation Of Gold, Says Traveller Cannot Be Left Remediless Due To Wrong Legal Advice

The Delhi High Court recently allowed an air traveller to prefer a time-barred appeal against confiscation of gold by the Customs Department, upon his arrival from Thailand.In doing so, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain said, “the Petitioner cannot be rendered completely remediless in this matter as he may have proceeded on the legal advice.”The Petitioner...

Supreme Court Leaves Open Question Whether Customs Can Seize Goods Which Left Port

The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain an appeal against the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (“CESTAT”) view that once goods are cleared from the port, customs authorities lose their power to confiscate them for violations such as non-compliance with license requirements. However, the bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan left open the question...

Delhi High Court Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost On Senior Citizen Who Failed To Attend Personal Hearing Over ₹1.95 Crore GST Demand

The Delhi High Court has directed the Customs Department to grant one more opportunity to a septuagenarian woman, who failed to appear for personal hearing in connection with ₹1,95,11,160 demand raised against her firm.The Petitioner is the sole proprietor of the firm, who has a dealership agreement with M/s. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in respect of domestic &...

UPGST Act | Confiscation Notice U/S 130 Cannot Be Issued For Mere Violation Of Record-Maintenance Requirements U/S 35: Allahabad HC

Recently, the Allahabad High Court reiterated that notices under Section 130 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Service Tax Act 2017 for confiscation and levy of penalty, could not be issued for alleged violation of maintenance of accounts and records as required under Section 35 of the Act. It was held that such notices under Section 130 could only be issued once the...

Not Reasonable To Expect Taxpayer To Check Every Tab On GST Portal: Calcutta High Court Orders Appeal To Be Heard Despite Delay

The Calcutta High Court has held that where an adjudication order under the GST regime is uploaded on the GST Portal only under the “View Additional Notices and Orders” tab rather than the primary “View Notices and Orders” tab the resulting delay in filing appeal is to be condoned, considering that taxpayers cannot reasonably be expected to check multiple tabs for final...

IT Act | Reassessment Cannot Be Used To Review Assessment When All Documents Were Earlier Disclosed: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that reassessment proceedings under Sections 148 & 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be initiated to re-open issues that were already scrutinized and accepted during the original assessment, observing that a mere change of mind on the part of the Assessing Officer does not constitute reason to believe nor permit reassessment. A Division Bench...

'Infraction Of Natural Justice': Delhi High Court On One-Day Notice Given For Personal Hearing Against GST Demand

The Delhi High Court has said that granting mere one-day notice to an assessee for attending personal hearing with respect to proposed GST demands amounts of 'infraction' of natural justice.The observation was made by a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Saurabh Banerjee while hearing Petitioner-firm's challenge to dismissal of its appeal against demand on the ground of it...

Peanut Butter Similar To Margarine; Not Exempt From Excise Duty: CESTAT

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the Peanut Butter is similar to Margarine in terms of usage, origin, fat content, etc. and therefore not eligible for excise duty exemption. Angad Prasad (Judicial Member) and A.K. Jyotishi (Technical Member) examined whether Peanut Butter could be considered similar to Margarine. If...

Can Customs Issue SCN For IGST Recovery? Delhi High Court Issues Notice To Customs & GST Dept; Seeks Joint Affidavit

The Delhi High Court has issued notice in a writ petition against the Show Cause Notice by the Customs Department, instead of the GST Department, for recovery of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) amounting to about Rs. 5 lakhs from the exporter. The Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain has listed the matter for February 24, 2026 while...