IMPORTANT INCOME TAX CASE LAWS 27.01.2026 Relevant Act Section Case Law Title Brief Summary Citation Income-tax Act, 1961 Section 36(1)(va) Rational Business Corp (P) Ltd v. DCIT [Retrospective Disallowance] Disallowance of delayed employees’ PF/ESI contributions is valid even for past years, as the SC ruling in Checkmate Services has retrospective effect. The relaxation of Section… Read More »
Case Summary: Retrospective Disallowance of Belated PF/ESI Contributions The Issue Whether the Supreme Court’s ruling in Checkmate Services Pvt. Ltd. (2022) can be applied retrospectively to justify disallowances made under Section 143(1)(a) for Assessment Years 2018-19 and 2019-20, even though the issue was considered “debatable” at the time the returns were processed. The Facts The… Read More »
Case Summary: Quashing of JAO-Issued Section 148 Notice The Issue Whether a notice issued under Section 148 by a Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO)—instead of through the Faceless Assessment Officer (FAO) or the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NaFAC)—is legally valid under the new faceless reassessment regime. The Facts The Regime Change: After the Finance Act 2021… Read More »
Case Summary: Jurisdiction of Search Assessments and Third-Party Digital Evidence I. Third-Party WhatsApp Chats as “Incriminating Material” The Issue Can WhatsApp chats recovered from the phone of a third party (unrelated to the assessee) be used as “incriminating material” to justify additions in the assessee’s completed (unabated) assessments? The Decision The Tribunal ruled that third-party… Read More »
Case Summary: Denial of Section 11 Exemption for Belated Form 10B Overruled The Issue Whether the Assessing Officer (AO) can legally deny an exemption under Section 11 on the grounds that the Audit Report in Form No. 10B was not filed within the original prescribed time, even if it was submitted with a revised return… Read More »
IMPORTANT GST CASE LAWS 27.01.2026 Relevant Act Section Case Law Title Brief Summary Citation CGST Act, 2017 Section 160 D. Bhuvaneswara Reddy v. Assistant Commissioner ST [Unsigned Order = No Order] An assessment order served without the Assessing Officer’s signature is legally void. Uploading an unsigned order on the portal does not cure this fundamental… Read More »
Interim Bail in GST Arrests: High Court’s Power Restricted to “Exceptional” Cases The Issue Whether the High Court should entertain a petition for interim bail under Article 226 read with Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. on humanitarian grounds, following a search and seizure operation under Section 67(2) of the GST Act. The Facts The Operation:… Read More »
Allahabad High Court: Section 75 Mandates Fresh Hearing Date Before Ex-Parte Order The Issue Whether a GST assessment order can be sustained if it was passed ex-parte without fixing a specific date for a personal hearing or without issuing a fresh notice for a subsequent hearing after the initial deadline lapsed. The Facts Procedural Lapse:… Read More »
GSTAT Operational: High Court Transition and Appeal Deadlines The Issue Whether pending writ petitions against first appellate orders (Section 107) should continue in the High Court now that GSTAT is operational, and how existing court-ordered deposits should be treated under the new appellate regime. The Facts The Vacuum: Taxpayers previously filed writ petitions because the… Read More »
Interim Relief on Co-insurance and Ceding Commission: Conflict with GST Council Circulars The Issue Whether the GST Department can continue to demand tax on co-insurance premiums and ceding commissions despite the GST Council issuing specific circulars (dated 11-10-2024 and 28-1-2025) to drop such demands, and whether a “stay” should be granted when jurisdictional officers… Read More »