Reopening Notice Issued After Original Limitation Period (Pre-Finance Act, 2021) is Without Jurisdiction Issue: Whether a reopening notice issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for Assessment Year 2013-14, on March 26, 2021, is valid, given that it was issued after the expiry of the period of limitation prescribed under Section 149(1)(a) and… Read More »
I. Search and Seizure Operation Quashed: No Valid “Reason to Believe” for Non-Production of Books/Documents Issue: Whether a search and seizure operation conducted under Section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, at the premises of an assessee is legal and valid, when the “reason to believe” for such search is based merely on the assessee… Read More »
I. Allocation of Employee Benefit Expenses to Agricultural Activities Upheld Due to Nature of Work Issue: Whether the Assessing Officer (AO) was justified in allocating employee benefit expenses to agricultural activities on a proportionate basis, when the assessee claimed a much lower allocation, and the nature of the agricultural activity was specialized and labor-intensive. Facts:… Read More »
Section 80-IA(9): Deduction Under Other Chapter VI-A Provisions Not Restricted in Computation, Only in Final Allowability to Prevent Double Deduction Issue: How Section 80-IA(9) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, interacts with other deduction provisions under Heading ‘C’ of Chapter VI-A (which includes Section 80-HHC) when deduction under Section 80-IA is claimed, specifically whether it restricts… Read More »
Donation Exemption Under Section 80G: Trust with Religious Object Not Denied if Expenditure on Religious Purposes is Below 5% Issue: Whether a charitable trust can be denied approval under Section 80G(5) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, solely because its trust deed contains a specific object related to “religious purposes,” even if the trust submits that… Read More »
I. Capital Gain on Sale of Rights Entitlement Exempt Under India-Ireland DTAA Article 13(6), Not Taxable as Share Sale Issue: Whether Short Term Capital Gains (STCG) earned by an Irish company from the sale of rights entitlement of shares of an Indian company should be taxed as “sale of shares” under Article 13(5) of the… Read More »
Reopening of Assessment Invalid: Income Already Taxed on Substantive Basis in Another Assessment Year Issue: Whether an Assessing Officer (AO) can validly reopen an assessment under Sections 147 and 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for an earlier assessment year (e.g., AY 2008-09) on the ground of unexplained moneys (Section 69A), when the same alleged… Read More »
Reassessment of Unexplained Cash Deposits: AO to Apply Peak Credit Theory and Set Off Against Agricultural Income Issue: Whether, in a reassessment where an assessee with only agricultural income deposits substantial cash, the Assessing Officer (AO) should work out the peak negative cash balance by considering all cash transactions (including withdrawals and bearer cheques) and… Read More »
Cash Credits in Shell Company Not Taxable in its Hands if Ultimately Taxed in Beneficiary’s Hands Issue: Whether unexplained credits found in the accounts of a “shell company” (assessee) that was used as a conduit for routing accommodation entries to ultimate beneficiaries should be taxed in the hands of the shell company under Section 68… Read More »
I. Lump-Sum Addition for Unexplained Cash Deposits During Demonetization, Not to be a Precedent Issue: Whether a lump-sum addition for unexplained cash deposits made by an assessee during the demonetization period is justified, even when the assessee attempts to explain the source through cash withdrawals and increased cash sales due to a government directive, but… Read More »