Reopening Without New Material Invalid; Royalty Proven Genuine is a Deductible Expense. Issue Whether an assessment can be reopened under Section 147 based on a mere change of opinion regarding the genuineness of a royalty payment, especially when the payment is a standard business outgo, was previously accepted, and is supported by comprehensive documentary evidence.… Read More »
HC Remands Ex Gratia Payment Case for Fresh Decision on Taxability. Issue Whether a voluntary, ex-gratia payment made by an employer to an employee upon resignation is taxable as ‘profits in lieu of salary’ under Section 17 of the Income-tax Act, or if it falls outside the scope of taxable income. Facts An assessee resigned… Read More »
Technical Error in Form Not Fatal to Charitable Registration Claim, HC Remands Case. Issue Can a charitable trust’s application for regular registration under Section 12A be rejected—and its provisional registration cancelled—due to a technical error in selecting the wrong subsection in the application form, coupled with a failure to comply with a subsequent notice? Facts… Read More »
Briefly Reasoned Order Not Contempt; HC Drops Proceedings Against Tax Commissioner. Issue Does an order passed by a Principal Commissioner, which provides brief but not elaborate reasons for a decision, constitute “willful disobedience” of a High Court’s directive to pass a fresh, reasoned order, thereby making the officer liable for contempt of court? Facts An… Read More »
Brief Approval for Reassessment is Valid; HC Overturns Tribunal’s Order. Issue Is an approval for reopening an assessment, granted by a senior authority under Section 151, legally invalid merely because it is recorded in a brief and summary manner (e.g., “Yes, I am convinced”), or does such an endorsement sufficiently meet the statutory requirement of… Read More »
HC Quashes Faceless Assessment Order for Completely Ignoring Taxpayer’s Reply. Issue Is a final assessment order passed under the faceless assessment scheme legally sustainable if the Assessing Officer completely fails to consider the taxpayer’s detailed reply to the show-cause notice, which was duly filed and available on record? Facts The assessee’s income tax return for… Read More »
Denial of Requested Personal Hearing Invalidates Faceless Reassessment Order. Issue Is a faceless reassessment order passed under Section 147 read with Section 144B of the Income-tax Act legally valid if the Assessing Officer (AO) passes it without granting a personal hearing, despite a specific request for the same by the assessee? Facts The assessee, a… Read More »
TP Adjustment on Royalty Deleted, Following Precedent and Assessee’s Benchmarking Issue Can a Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) disregard the assessee’s benchmarking analysis for royalty payments and substitute it with a Nil or arbitrary valuation, especially when there is no basis to allege that the payment was not for genuine business purposes? Facts The assessee paid… Read More »
Society’s Activities Promoting Pharma-Doctor Networking Not a Charitable Purpose. Issue Can a society, whose primary activities involve organizing conferences for doctors funded by donations from pharmaceutical companies, be considered as having a “charitable purpose” of “medical relief” under Section 2(15), or are its activities promotional and contrary to public policy? Facts An assessee-society applied for… Read More »
IMPORTANT INCOME TAX CASE LAW 29.10.2025 Section Case Law Title Brief Summary Citation Relevant Act Section 11 Masoomeen Education Society v. Commissioner (Appeals), Sangli The claim for exemption under Section 11 cannot be denied merely for delay in filing the audit report if the assessee-trust uploaded Form No. 10B within the time allowed by the… Read More »