Accumulation and Utilization of Income under Section 11 This case pertains to the Assessment Year (AY) 1995-96 involving an assessee-society claiming exemption for its charitable activities. The core of the dispute lies in the interpretation of Section 11(2) (Accumulation of Income) and Section 11(3) (Consequences of non-utilization or mis-utilization of such income). The Legal Issue… Read More »
Section 170A: Modified Return Must Be Considered in Pending Assessment Proceedings The Legal Issue The central question is whether the Assessing Officer (AO) is required to consider a modified return filed under Section 170A within the ongoing (pending) assessment proceedings, or whether the AO can ignore it, pass an assessment order on the old return,… Read More »
FMCG Anti-Profiteering: Failure to Reduce Prices After Rate Cut Leads to Recovery Order The Legal Issue The primary legal issue is the application of Section 171 regarding “commensurate reduction” in prices. Specifically, whether a supplier can maintain the same Maximum Retail Price (MRP) after a tax rate reduction (from 28% to 18%) by citing “commercial… Read More »
Delhi High Court Remands Real Estate Anti-Profiteering Probe Over Faulty Methodology The Legal Issue The central legal issue is whether the Director General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP) is justified in using a generic “ratio-based” methodology (comparing ITC to turnover) to calculate profiteering, or if it must adopt an “item-wise” data approach when requested by a developer.… Read More »
Portal Service is Valid but Not Always “Effective”: Madras High Court Orders Remand The Legal Issue The central legal question is whether tax authorities satisfy the principles of Natural Justice by solely uploading notices to the GST portal when a taxpayer remains unresponsive. The Court examined if “effective service” under Section 169 requires exploring alternative… Read More »
Writ Jurisdiction Refused: High Court Cannot Condon Delay Beyond GST Statutory Limits The Legal Issue The central question is whether the High Court, exercising its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226, can condone a delay in filing a GST appeal that exceeds the maximum outer limit of 120 days (3 months + 1 month extension)… Read More »
Portal Upload is Not “Automatic” Communication: Allahabad High Court Orders Fresh Hearing The Legal Issue The core legal dispute centers on whether uploading an order solely to the GST portal constitutes valid “communication” under Section 169 of the CGST Act, particularly when a taxpayer disputes receiving it via email. The Court examined if an ex… Read More »
Judicial Warning: AI-Generated “Fake” Case Laws Lead to Remand in GST Dispute The Legal Issue The case addresses a “very worrying trend” where a quasi-judicial authority (the GST Commissioner) relied on non-existent or entirely irrelevant judicial precedents—likely generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI)—to reject a taxpayer’s defense, thereby vitiating the entire adjudication process under Section 75.… Read More »
AAR Rejection: Pre-existing Scrutiny and DRC-07 Orders Bar Advance Ruling The Legal Issue The primary legal issue is the admissibility of an application for an Advance Ruling under Section 98(2) of the CGST Act. Specifically, whether the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) can entertain a question regarding tax liability when the Department has already initiated… Read More »
Composite GST Notices vs. Mandatory Limitation Periods: A Balanced Judicial Approach The Legal Issue The primary question was whether the GST department can validly issue a single composite Show Cause Notice (SCN) for multiple financial years, and how the statutory limitation periods for passing orders apply to such consolidated proceedings, especially when parallel investigations by… Read More »