CIT(E) Must Adjudicate Regular 80G Application on Merits, Not Reject it as Non-Maintainable. Issue Whether an application filed by a trust for regular approval under Section 80G(5)(iii) of the Income-tax Act is “non-maintainable” simply because the trust already holds a provisional approval for the same period. Facts The assessee, a non-profit company registered under Section… Read More »
Addition for Demonetization Cash Sales Deleted; AO’s Order Based on Mere Suspicion, Not Proof. Issue Whether an Assessing Officer (AO) can make an addition under Section 68 of the Income-tax Act, treating high-value cash sales on the night of demonetization as unexplained, based merely on suspicion and conjecture, especially when the assessee provides evidence of… Read More »
Penalty for Non-Disclosure of Foreign Assets is Discretionary, Not Mandatory. Issue Whether the penalty under Section 43 of the Black Money Act, 2015, for failure to disclose foreign assets in Schedule FA of the income tax return is mandatory and automatic, or if the Assessing Officer (AO) retains the discretion to impose it based on… Read More »
I. TNMM is the Most Appropriate Method for Benchmarking Traded Spares, Following Precedent Issue Whether the Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM), as adopted by the assessee, or the Cost Plus Method (CPM), as applied by the Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO), is the most appropriate method for benchmarking the international transaction of exporting traded… Read More »
License Fee for Goodwill is Deductible, Following Binding High Court Precedent. Issue Can an Assessing Officer disallow a license fee paid for the use of goodwill, when the High Court, in the assessee’s own case, has already held the same expenditure to be an allowable business deduction? Facts The assessee, a law firm, paid a… Read More »
HC Condoned Form 10B Delay, Citing Genuine Hardship Over Late Condonation Plea. Issue Whether a 70-day delay in filing the mandatory audit report in Form No. 10B for a charitable trust should be condoned on grounds of “genuine hardship,” even if the application for condonation was itself filed beyond the time limit prescribed by a… Read More »
SC Disposes SLP; Assessee’s Non-Participation in ITC Fraud Proceedings Unjustified. Issue Whether a High Court should exercise its writ jurisdiction to quash an adverse assessment order when the assessee, despite being aware of the proceedings, deliberately chose not to participate by neither filing a reply nor attending the personal hearing. Facts The assessee was alleged… Read More »
Duplicate GST Orders for the Same Period are Invalid; HC Remands for Fresh Hearing. Issue Whether the issuance of two separate Show Cause Notices (SCNs) and two corresponding assessment orders for the identical tax period and on the identical subject matter is a valid legal proceeding, or if it constitutes a procedural duplication that violates… Read More »
HC Quashes GST SCN for Violating Mandatory Three-Month Time Limit for Issuance. Issue Whether a Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act is legally valid if it is served on the taxpayer less than the mandatorily prescribed three-month period before the final statutory date for passing the assessment order. Facts… Read More »
HC Allows Partial Negative Blocking, Balancing Pending Liability and Revenue’s Need for Examination. Issue Whether the “negative blocking” of an Electronic Credit Ledger (ECL) under Rule 86A is a legally permissible and proportionate measure, particularly when it exceeds the available credit and prevents the assessee from discharging their current tax liabilities. Facts The GST department… Read More »