NEW INCOME TAX CASE LAWS 20.05.2025

Relevant Act	Section	Case Law Title	Citation	Brief Summary
PBPT Act, 1988	Section 2(9)	Smt. Santosh Miglani v. Initiating Officer	Click Here	Handing over demonetized cash for bank deposit and subsequent retransfer through banking channels constitutes a benami transaction; cash is considered ‘property’ under the Act.
PBPT Act, 1988	Section 24	Smt. Santosh Miglani v. Initiating Officer	Click Here	Where the appellant already paid PMGKY tax and made required bond deposits out of the benami cash, the bank account attachment must be restricted to the balance amount only.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 4	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	Gains arising from the prepayment of Sales Tax deferrals are capital receipts. Following the rule of consistency, the AO cannot treat them as revenue receipts if allowed in earlier years.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 12AB	Jamia Osman Bin Affan Education Society v. Income-tax Officer, Exemption	Click Here	A cancellation of Section 12AB registration based on an assessment order alleging Section 13(1)(b) violations cannot survive once the underlying additions and denial of exemption are deleted.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 13	Jamia Osman Bin Affan Education Society v. Income-tax Officer, Exemption	Click Here	Denial of exemption under Section 11 is unjustified merely because certain beneficiaries of a school building construction/auto distribution belong to a specific religious community, provided the society is substantially engaged in charitable activities.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 14A	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	No disallowance of interest expenditure is warranted under Section 14A if the assessee’s interest-free funds are substantially higher than the investments yielding exempt income; disallowance restricted to 0.5% of investments.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 28(iv)	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	Writing back project creditors as provisions no longer required cannot be treated as taxable business income under Section 28(iv) if similar additions were consistently deleted in previous years.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 36(1)(vii)	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	If the AO raised a specific query during assessment and accepted the explanation regarding a provision for doubtful debts, the PCIT cannot invoke revisionary proceedings under Section 263 alleging lack of thorough examination.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 36(1)(viia)	Indian Bank v. Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	The statutory option to claim deduction for bad/doubtful debts under the proviso to Section 36(1)(viia) is the exclusive prerogative of the bank. The AO cannot override this lawful election.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 37(1)	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	Festival and pooja expenses (sweets, dry fruits) distributed to business associates and employees are incurred wholly and exclusively for business and are allowable under Section 37(1).
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 37(1)	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	PCIT cannot invoke Section 263 on mere apprehension of full GST compliance when the assessee provides valid documentary evidence demonstrating the reversal of a denied GST credit component.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 43B	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	Disputed sales tax, excise duty, property maintenance, and GST paid under protest satisfy Section 43B conditions and cannot be dismissed by the Pr. Commissioner as contingent liabilities.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 48	Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax v. Bina Batlivala	Click Here	Full payment and possession handed over under an agreement to sell establishes the holding period. Registration charges form part of the acquisition cost eligible for indexation, but Interest-Bearing Maintenance Security does not.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 54EC	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	Section 54EC references long-term capital assets, not gains. Therefore, investing capital gains from the sale of a depreciable flat into specified bonds is permissible.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 68	Principal Commissioner of Income-tax-2 v. Bharathi Cement Corporation (P.) Ltd.	Click Here	A Tribunal order remanding a share premium dispute for factual verification of cash flows (rather than relying on surrounding probabilities) is procedural and raises no substantial question of law.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 68	Deep Vijaykumar Trivedi v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	Reopening an assessment based on a draft complaint found during a third-party survey is invalid if the assessee has no connection with the parties and statements reveal no cash transactions.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 69	Sagar Mukesh Sheth v. Income-tax Officer	Click Here	Reassessment based solely on a vague, loose paper chit found during a third-party search without names, figures, or a live link to the assessee is legally unsustainable.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 69	Harpreet Kaur v. Income-tax Officer	Click Here	Additions cannot be sustained solely on a DVO valuation or portal info without evidence of unaccounted payments, especially when a joint housing loan and co-owner’s investment are declared and accepted.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 69A	Deep Vijaykumar Trivedi v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle 3(1)(1)	Click Here	Reassessment notices based on digital data found on a third party’s mobile device, built on conjectures and surmises without an established cash link, deserve to be quashed.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 80-IA	ACIT v. Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.	Click Here	A constituent member of a JV/Consortium executing infrastructure projects as per a delineated role is entitled to the deduction if the JV itself does not claim it.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 80-IA	ACIT v. Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.	Click Here	An infrastructure company executing irrigation projects with complete financial/operational risks acts as a developer, not a mere works contractor; hence, the Section 80-IA(13) bar does not apply.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 80-IA	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	Deductions for a Rail System and Water Supply System allowed in previous years by the Tribunal carry forward to the relevant assessment years based on consistency rules.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 80-IA	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	No infirmity was found in the CIT(A) order allowing a Section 80-IA deduction on income earned from the sale of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), matching past precedents.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 92C	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	No TP adjustment is warranted if interest rates charged on loans to AEs (LIBOR plus 350/500 bps) are higher than the arm’s length rates accepted in prior years.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 92C	Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax v. JSW Steel Ltd.	Click Here	Restriction of corporate guarantee commission to 0.35 percent upheld, following established Tribunal orders for the assessee’s own case in earlier years.
Income-Tax Act, 1961	Section 115BBD	Asian Paints Ltd. v. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax	Click Here	Foreign subsidiary dividends claimed as deductions under Section 80M do not form part of the total taxable income, making them exempt from Section 115BBD taxation.