ITAT Mumbai Restores Trust's 12AB Registration Matter To CIT(E) For Fresh Consideration

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, has set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) [CIT(E)] rejecting the application of Shri Hans Maharaj Trust for registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and has remanded the matter back for fresh adjudication. A Bench comprising Accountant Member Vikram Singh Yadav and Judicial...

Delhi High Court Bars Misuse Of Moneycontrol Name For Running Fraudulent Investment Schemes

The Delhi High Court has permanently restrained several individuals from misusing the “Moneycontrol” name, a widely used financial news and stock market information platform, to run fraudulent investment schemes on WhatsApp. The court also ordered that the WhatsApp accounts and mobile numbers linked to the scam must remain blocked. A single bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora...

Igniting Flame Of Growth: A New Year's Call To Evolve In Justice

Dear Brother and Sister Judges, Esteemed Young Advocates, and Fellow Legal Minds across India,As 2025 draws to a close, a simple book has quietly reshaped my own approach to our demanding profession. Dr. Carol S. Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success draws a clear line between two ways of seeing ourselves: the fixed mindset, which treats abilities as unchangeable traits, and the growth mindset, which views them as muscles strengthened through effort, challenge, and learning. In the...

ITAT Has Power To Grant Stay Even Without Tax Demand; Tribunal Cannot Refuse Jurisdiction: J&K High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has the power to grant stay of an order appealed against even when there is no existing tax demand, and that refusal to consider a stay application on the ground of lack of jurisdiction is legally unsustainable. A Division Bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem...

Supreme Court Round-Up 2025: Free Speech

In 2025, the Supreme Court handled significant cases dealing with free speech. From poetry and political dissent to Wikipedia entries, online comedy, social media commentary and cinema, the Court was repeatedly required to navigate the fraught boundary between liberty and regulation. When poetry was criminalised - Imran Pratapgarhi caseOne of the clearest affirmations of free speech came...

Customs Act | Gujarat High Court Upholds CARR Ruling Allowing Duty Free Import On Inshell Walnuts Treating It As 'Dietary Fibre'

The Gujarat High Court upheld ruling of Customs Authority for Advance Rulings granting exemption from payment of Basic Customs Duty for inshell-walnuts imported by an entity treating the goods as "dietary fibre". The respondent- assessee is a transferee of Duty-Free Import Authorisations issued against the export of Assorted Confectionary Products (SION E-1) and Biscuits (SION E-5).The...

Dispute Arising From Sale Deeds Executed Between Partners As Part Of Business Arrangement Is Arbitrable: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court dismissed an appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Arbitration Act") declining to interfere with an arbitral award dissolving a long-standing partnership and holding that the sale deeds executed between the partners were merely business arrangements, not intended to transfer or create title; consequently, the dispute did not...

Customs | Confiscated Cigarettes Not Fit For Home Consumption Cannot Be Auctioned; Security Deposit Refundable: CESTAT New Delhi

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that confiscated/seized cigarettes which do not comply with mandatory packaging, labelling and legal metrology requirements cannot be released for home consumption and therefore could not have been validly auctioned. Since the auction is vitiated, forfeiture of the security...

Income Tax | Reopening Not Hit By Change Of Opinion If Earlier Proceedings Dropped Due To Lack Of Evidence: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court held that the mere reopening of an assessment under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act cannot be treated as a change of opinion if the earlier proceedings were dropped due to lack of evidence. Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury stated that on the basis of a change of opinion of the assessing officer, a notice under Section 148 of the said Act cannot be issued. For a...

Customs Officers Must Wear Body Cameras During Baggage Clearance, Passenger Interactions: CBIC

Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has mandated Body Worn Cameras for Customs officers posted at International Airports, engaging closely with passengers at baggage clearance counters. To align with global practices, Customs had started to adopt the digital technologies for audio and video recording, to enhance transparency, accountability and professionalism...

Tamil Nadu Government Extends 100% Road Tax Exemption For Electric Vehicles Till 2027

The Tamil Nadu Government has extended 100% exemption on all Battery-Operated Vehicles both, Transport and Non-Transport (Electric Vehicles) from payment of Motor Vehicle Tax. Electric vehicle adoption in Tamil Nadu has already reached 7.8% in 2025, the Minister of Industries said. Aligning with the State's Electric Vehicle Policy, staring January 01, 2026 till December 31 2027,...

S.153C Income Tax Act | Gujarat High Court Quashes Assessment Proceedings Citing 2-Yr Delay & Lack Of Date In 'Satisfaction Note'

The Gujarat High Court quashed a Section 153C Income Tax Act proceedings against a company after noting that the assessing officer's satisfaction note did not bear any date and that the note, though recorded in 2022 was "supplied" to the company only in 2024 i.e., after a delay of two years without any explanation. For context, Section 153C empowers the tax authority to assess the income of...