Tax
Arrest Under GST Act: Supreme Court Clarifies Law Protecting Human Dignity
Arrest of a person is not only violative of Article 21 of the Constitution which affirms the right to life and liberty but is also a loss of human dignity in the family and society. Courts have held that the power of arrest should be used with great circumspection and not casually. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Radhika Agarwal V. Union of India and Others, Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 336 OF 2018 has stipulated sufficient safeguards so that no arrests are made arbitrarily in GST cases.How an...
Joint Settlement Of Liquor Licence Permissible Where Multiple Heirs Are Willing And Eligible: Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court has upheld the joint settlement of a country spirit shop licence in favour of two grandsons of the original deceased licensee, holding that Rule 14(6) of the West Bengal Excise (Selection of New Sites and Grant of Licence for Retail Sale of Liquor and Certain Other Intoxicant) Rules, 2003 expressly permits grant of licence to "one or more" heirs or representatives....
Depositing Electricity Bills & Property Tax In Previous Owner's Name Demolishes Claim Of Ownership By Adverse Possession: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that a person claiming ownership of a property by adverse possession cannot succeed where he has been depositing electricity bills and property tax in the name of the previous owner, observing that such conduct amounts to an acknowledgment of the previous owner's title and demolishes the plea of adverse possession. Justice Sandeep Jain made the observation...
Same-Sex Couples Can't Claim 'Spouse' Benefits Under Income Tax Act Without Legal Recognition Of Marriage: IT Dept Tells Bombay High Court
To get the benefit of 'exemption' under section 56(2)(x) of the Income Tax (IT) Act, which grants exemption from tax on gifts between heterosexual couple, a same sex couple must first get its union legally recognised as a 'marriage' or 'spouse' etc, the Income Tax Department recently told the Bombay High Court. The Income Tax Department has opposed a plea filed by a same sex couple, which...
Beyond Boilerplate: GST Indemnities In Commercial Contracts And Allocation Of Tax Risk
A company has signed a supply contract with a vendor at a fixed price. The vendor raises a tax invoice on which GST is charged. The company pays the entire amount, including GST, and accounts for it in its books. After a few months, on a tax audit or departmental inspection of its records, the company is informed that the vendor has either not remitted the GST collected, has not reported the invoice correctly to the department, or has had issues in its compliance related to the...
Taxing Entry: H-1B Surcharge And Constitutional Limits On Executive Revenue Power
On June 8, Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts[1] vacated Presidential Proclamation 10973, which had imposed a $100,000 surcharge on new H-1B petitions.[2] The ruling is analytically interesting less for what it decides and more for how specifically the doctrinal move the Court makes in calling the charge a tax rather than a regulatory fee, and why that judgment has consequences well beyond this case.The result gives employers immediate relief. However, the more...
S.35L Central Excise Act | Only Supreme Court Can Decide Appeals On Question Of Excisability; Not High Courts: SC
The Supreme Court has held that disputes relating to the excisability of goods fall within its exclusive appellate jurisdiction and cannot be decided by High Courts under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944.“An appeal from an order passed by the Appellate Tribunal relating to the determination of any question having a relation to the rate of excise duty or to the value of goods for...
GST Arrests Post Radhika Agarwal V. Union of India: Has Supreme Court Redefined Tax Investigations?
For many businesses facing GST investigations today, the process itself often becomes the punishment. Notices are issued; documents are asked for; top management is being called upon so many times, and arrest, even without the final assessment, is a looming possibility. Many taxpayers have already alleged that the threat of arrest is itself used as a pressure tactic during the...
