Incorrect Declaration In Bill Of Entry Attracts Penalty U/S 114AA Of Customs Act: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that Justice Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member) stated that imports and filing of the Bill of Entry are transactions of business under the Customs Act. Section 114AA would squarely apply to those transactions. In this case, the importer filed a Bill of Entry...

Delhi High Court Directs Registry To Add 'DIN Field' In GST Writ Petitions To Avoid Conflicting Rulings

In order to avoid duplication of GST cases, the Delhi High Court has asked its Registry to add a new field for filing of writ petitions to record DIN (Document Identification Number) and date of order being challenged.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain passed the direction on observing that multiple writ petitions were being filed challenging same impugned...

IRCTC's Licensing For Operation Of Food Plazas Not Liable To Service Tax Under 'Renting Of Immovable Property': CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that IRCTC's (Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd.) licensing for the operation of food plazas is not liable to service tax under 'renting of immovable property'. The Tribunal observed that the agreement was purely related to the transaction of business whereby the assessee...

Tax Quarterly Digest: July - September, 2025

SUPREME COURTStem Cell Banking Services Qualify As "Healthcare Services" In Service Tax Exemption Notification : Supreme CourtCase : M/S. STEMCYTE INDIA THERAPEUTICS PVT. LTD vs COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE AND SERVICE TAX, AHMEDABAD - IIICase no.: CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 3816-3817 OF 2025The Supreme Court held that stem cell banking services, including enrolment, collection, processing, and...

Govt Examination Board Not Liable To Pay Service Tax On Examination Fees Collected From Candidates: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that the government examination board is not liable to service tax on examination fees collected from candidates. Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) and Sanjiv Srivastava (Technical Member) stated that the examination fees collected from the candidates appearing for the examination being...

Gauhati High Court Quashes ₹19.5 Crore GST Notice Against PepsiCo

The Gauhati High Court recently quashed a ₹19.5 crore show cause notice (SCN) issued to food and beverage giant PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. under the CGST Act, ruling that the GST department failed to comply with the mandatory process of return scrutiny before initiating tax demand proceedings.In a judgment delivered on September 19, 2025, a single bench of Justice Soumitra Saikia...

Taxpayer Cannot Be Left At Mercy Of Assessing Officer Who Chooses To Delay Payment Of Genuine Refunds: Allahabad High Court

While dealing with a writ petition for refund of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), the Allahabad High Court has held that when the documents for TDS are provided by the assesee, the Assessing Officer must process the refund and cannot delay payment of refund in genuine cases. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar held “a taxpayer should not be left at...

Printing Digital Images/Letters On Paper Constitutes Services, Attracts 18% GST Not 12%: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that printing digital images/letters on paper constitutes services, and attracts 18% GST not 12%.The question before the bench was to determine whether the assessee's printing activities ie. converting the figures, letters, photographs etc., in a digital form, into physical format by printing it on paper were liable to GST at 12% or 18%.Justice Ziyad Rahman...

Input Tax Credit Can't Be Blocked If Credit Balance Is Nil: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday held that Input Tax Credit (ITC) cannot be blocked under Rule 86-A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, if the electronic credit ledger of a taxpayer shows a nil balance on the date of the blocking order. A Division Bench of Justice M S Sonak and Justice Advait M Sethna observed, “Therefore, on a plain reading of the rule, if on...

Delhi High Court Drops Suo Moto Contempt Action Against Income Tax Officer For Allegedly Passing Unreasoned Order

The Delhi High Court has dropped the civil contempt proceedings initiated against a Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (now retired) six years ago, for alleged wilful disobedience of its order to give reasons for insisting an assessee to deposit 20% demand in appeal.The proceedings were initiated suo moto in 2019 on a prima facie opinion but on a closer scrutiny, Justice Vikas Mahajan now...

Customs | FERA Penalty U/S 50 Not Applicable For Export Shortfall Below 10%; Exporter Can Write-Off Unrealised Bills: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court stated that the FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act) penalty under Section 50 is not applicable for export shortfall below 10%; the exporter can write off unrealised bills. Justices S.M. Subramaniam and C. Saravanan stated that even otherwise, since Section 18(1)(a) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act is to be read along with Section 18(2) and Section 18(3)...

Income Tax Act | Assessee Can Challenge Cash Credit Addition U/S 68 In Remand Proceedings; Tribunal's Direction Not Binding: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that the assessee is free to challenge the cash credit addition under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act in remand proceedings; the tribunal's directions are not binding. As per Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, any sum found credited in the books of a taxpayer, for which he offers no explanation about the nature and source thereof or the...