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 »
Prolonged Pre-Trial Custody Overrides Gravity of Economic Offence in Bail Grant The Issue Whether an accused, alleged to be the mastermind behind a massive ₹315.3 Crore fake ITC scam involving 44 shell firms, is entitled to bail despite the economic gravity of the offence, considering he has been in custody for over eight months… Read More »
Unsigned GST Order: A Jurisdictional Nullity in the Eyes of Law The Issue Whether a GST assessment order issued in FORM GST DRC-07 is legally valid and enforceable if it lacks the digital or manual signature of the Assessing Officer (AO). The Facts The Lapse: The respondent authority passed an assessment order for the period… Read More »
IMPORTANT INCOME TAX CASE LAWS 24.01.2026 Relevant Act Section Case Law Title Brief Summary Citation Income-tax Act, 1961 Section 6 Sanjay Bhaskar v. DCIT [Stay in India] For determining residential status, the day of arrival in India is to be excluded when computing the total number of days of stay. Click Here Income-tax Act, 1961… Read More »