Indirect Tax Cases Monthly Round Up: February 2024

Supreme Court Customs Act | Claimant Entitled To Interest On Delayed Return Of The 'Duty Drawback' : Supreme Court Case Title: Union Of India And Ors. Versus M/S. B. T. Patil And Sons Belgaum (Construction) Pvt. Ltd. Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 90 The Supreme Court observed that if there is a delay in refund of the 'duty drawback' to the claimant under the Customs...

Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act Mandates 15 days' Time To Be Provided To Property Tax Assessee To Respond To Notice: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that Section 116A of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, mandates that 15 days' time should be provided to the property tax assessee to respond to the notice before action is taken.The bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy has directed the respondent department to de-seal the restaurant.The petitioner/assessee has assailed a demand notice that...

Gujarat High Court Refuses To Interfere With Section 153C Income Tax Notice, Allows Assessee To Raise Objections

In a judgment with significant implications, the Gujarat High Court has declined to intervene in a case challenging the validity of notices issued under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.The petition challenged the validity of several notices and orders issued under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Specifically, it challenges a notice dated 09.06.2022 for the Assessment Year 2014-15 under...

Delivery Cost And Warranty Expenses Are Post Sales Activities Doesn't Form The Part Of AMP Expenditure For Amazon India: ITAT

The Bangalore Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that delivery costs and warranty expenses are not part of advertising, marketing, and promotion (AMP) expenditures.The bench of George George K. (Vice President) and Laxmi Prasad Sahu (Accountant Member) has observed that during the course of TP proceedings, the TPO made a detailed inquiry on these issues, but it was...

Bombay High Court Quashes Reassessment Notices Issued Against Godrej For Beyond Limitation Period

The Bombay High Court has quashed the reassessment notices issued against Godrej because the notice was issued beyond the limitation period.The bench of Justice K. R. Shriram and Justice Neela Gokhale has observed that the validity of a notice must be judged on the basis of the law existing as on the date on which the notice is issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, which in the...

Deficiency In Filing Appeal Can't Make Appeal Filed Within Prescribed Period Of Limitation To Be Labelled As Time Barred: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that any deficiency in filing the appeal or application, like failure to file physical documents, cannot cause the appeal, which was registered on the online portal within the prescribed period of limitation, to be labelled and/or held to be barred by limitation.The bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh P. Pooniwalla has observed that once the...

Service Recipient In India Not Liable To Pay Service Tax When PE Of Foreign Service Provider Exists In India: CESTAT

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that under the purview of Section 66A of the Finance Act, 1994, when a permanent establishment of the foreign service provider exists in India, the recipient of service in India cannot be made liable to pay service tax under the reverse charge mechanism.The bench of Ramesh Nair (Judicial Member) and...

Storage Tanks Does Not Qualify Either As Land Or As Building, TDS Deductible On Storage Charges: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the respondent (assessee) ought to have deducted tax under Section 194I of the Income Tax Act, 1961, from the storage charges paid by the assessee.The bench of Justice K. R. Shriram and Justice Sharmila U. Deshmukh has observed that the storage tanks in question do not qualify either as land or as buildings within the meaning of Section 194I. In terms...

In Absence Of Consignment Note, Services Cannot Be Considered As GTA Services, Service Tax Not Sustainable: CESTAT

The Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax (CESTAT) has held that in the absence of a consignment note, services cannot be considered GTA services, and the demand for service tax under the category of “goods transport agency” does not sustain. The bench of Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) has observed that the appellant, apart from running the petrol pump outlet, is also providing...

Time Of Accrual For Taxing Income Gets Postponed Till Adjudication Of Dispute By Civil Court: Rajasthan High Court Stays Demand Order

The Rajasthan High Court has stayed the penalty order and consequential demand notices passed under Section 270-A and Section 156 of the Income Tax Act, respectively.The bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Munnuri Laxman, while issuing the notices to the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC), has observed that the time of accrual for taxing income gets postponed till...

Two Parallel Proceedings In Respect Of Same Period Not Permissible As Per CGST/SGST Act: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has held that two parallel proceedings in respect of the same period are not permissible as per the CGST/SGST Act.The bench of Justice Manish Choudhury has observed that Section 6 of the CGST/SGST Act, more particularly Section 6(2), indicates that once a proceeding is initiated in either of the two Acts, another proceeding for the same period under the other Act cannot...

TDS Under S.194-H Income Tax Act Won't Apply To Business Transactions Where Assessee Is Not Responsible For Paying Income : Supreme Court

In a significant development, the Supreme Court recently held that under Section 194-H of the Income Tax Act, 1961, cellular mobile service providers are not liable to deduct tax at source on income/profit component in payments received by their franchisees/distributors from third parties/customers. “…we hold that the assessees would not be under a legal obligation to deduct tax...