Tribunal couldn't decide appeal on merits if appellate authority had dismissed appeal due to pre-dep

CST & VAT: Where Appellate Authority dismissed appeal of assessee on account of non deposit of amount of pre deposit and Tribunal, on appeal filed against impugned order, decided appeal on merits, matter was remanded to Tribunal for consideration afresh bearing in mind that appeal before it was against dismissal of appeal on ground of non deposit of amount

Exp. incurred on abandoned projects is allowable under sec. 37(1)

IT : Where assessee incurs a liability under a contract which is terminated and therefore no amount under contract or in pursuance of a claim is receivable, assessee is entitled to claim said amount incurred as expenditure in implementing contract

Tribunal can recall its order if it is contrary to dictum laid down by the Apex Court, rules High Co

IT: An order, which is contrary to a judgment of Supreme Court, is patently erroneous and can be recalled by Tribunal

ITAT deletes disallowance as AO failed to prove that payments were made to related parties and they

IT: Where Assessing Officer had failed to prove that concerns were related parties as defined under section 40A(2)(b) and, payments were excessive, there was no case for making disallowance of 'agents incentive' paid by assessee to two concerns by invoking provisions of section 40A(2)(a)

Co. providing investment advisory service in not functionally comparable with Co. engaged in merchan

IT/ILT : Where TPO made addition to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering investment advisory services to its AE on basis of TNMM by adopting one 'M' as comparable, in view of fact that 'M' was engaged in business of merchant banking and, thus, it being a case of functional difference, impugned addition was to be set aside

Supreme Court admits appeal relating to service tax liability on oil-well drilling contracts

Service Tax : Supreme Court admits appeal against Tribunal judgment holding that Drilling of exploratory wells using own equipments would be : (a) mining services during 1-6-2007 to 15-5-2008, and (b) Supply of Tangible Goods for Use Services thereafter

Takeover option wasn't available to petitioner as he failed to exercise it within 15 days of order o

CL : Where pursuant to CLB's order petitioner exercised takeover option of respondent company, as a relief to bring an end to acts of oppression and mismanagement, beyond 15 days from date of relevant orders of CLB and High Court, such option was no more available

ITAT upholds OECD bar on use of TNMM for entities which are less successful than average ones for co

IT/ILT : OECD guidelines provide that in no case transaction profit method (TNMM/PSM) should be used on enterprises which are less or more successful than the average and where the reasons for success/lack thereof is attributable to commercial factors

Tribunal had to adhere to principle of consistency while passing pre-deposit orders

Excise & Customs : If, in same situation on same grounds, interim order has been passed imposing certain conditions, then, in subsequent cases, for maintaining certainty and consistency, Tribunal ought to pass identical order

Any transfer of funds from capital account of partner to the firm couldn't be deemed as violation of

IT: Where partners of firm gives money to firm in need of business exigencies and received it back through capital account, both in cash; no penalty could be levied

Order cancelling registration of dealers was invalid as it was not a speaking order

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer cancelled registration certificates of assessee giving following reasons : 'August 30, 2013 Jhabua Circle year 1999-2000 to 2006-07 recovery amount Rs. 146.90 lakhs', these reasons were not sufficient enough so as to call order as reasoned order

No sec. 80P relief without inquiring as to whether bank was established as primary agriculture credi

IT : While allowing claim under section 80P, an enquiry has to be conducted whether co-operative bank is conducting business as a primary agriculture credit society or a primary co-operative agricultural and rural development bank; claim cannot be allowed merely on basis of registration or nomenclature

HC allows assessee to make fresh representation as order of joint DGFT denying drawback claim was no

Excise & Customs : Where order of Joint DGFT denying drawback was violative of principles of natural justice and was non-speaking order, High Court permitted assessee to make fresh representations thereagainst before DGFT

Annual payment of royalty on basis of turnover is to be treated as revenue exp.

IT : Annual royalty paid for use of technology on basis of turnover of domestic sale was to be treated as revenue expenditure

CBEC appoints officers of Central Excise to conduct audit and issue show cause notices

EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Section 2(b) of The Central Excise Act, 1944, read with Rule 3(1) of The Central Excise Rules, 2002 – Central Excise Officer - Appointment of Officers of Central Excise Working in Audit Formations and Investing them with Powers of Central Excise Officers

ITAT set-aside order of DRP as it didn't give reasoned findings on contentions raised by assessee

IT/ILT: In absence of reasoned finding by DRP on contentions/evidence of assessee not raised before Assessing Officer, order of DRP amounted to non-speaking order which could not be upheld

Cenvat credit couldn't be denied merely because original manufacturer of inputs was non-traceable

Cenvat Credit : Where assessee had complied with all procedures of law in availing credit and taken all steps in accordance with law, credit cannot be denied merely because original manufacturer of inputs is not traceable

In cheque bouncing cases, territorial jurisdiction is restricted to that Court where offence is comm

CL : In case of dishonour of cheque, territorial jurisdiction is restricted to Court where cheque is dishonoured by bank on which it is drawn

No input credit as assessee had procured purchase bills to get credit and there was no physical move

CST & VAT : Where assessee claimed input tax credit on goods purchased from vendors, denial of input tax credit on plea that there was no movement of goods and it was only billing activity and alleged purchases were not genuine was justified

High Court further pre-deposit as Tribunal failed to quantify demand correctly

Service Tax : Where Tribunal has not classified or apportioned extent of services ineligible for abatement, assessee was entitled to further relief in terms of pre-deposit; hence, High Court further reduced pre-deposit

Sec. 68 contemplates addition only for cash credit, no addition on basis of trade credit

IT : Where in support of advance received, assessee produced ledger details of trade creditors as well as their confirmatory letters, no addition as cash credits was to be made

TPO directed to resolve TP dispute on services rendered by AE after considering invoice details give

IT/ILT : Where relevant details to compute T.P. adjustment on account of international transaction of payment of corporate charges could only be produced before Tribunal, matter be remitted back for reconsideration before Assessing Officer

Tribunal had to waive of pre-deposit in later years if pre-deposit was waived of earlier on similar

Service Tax : Where, in similar other matters, pre-deposit had been waived, hence, in view of peculiar fact situation, waiver application ought to be allowed by Tribunal

HC denied transfer of flat of liquidating-co in favour of employee as it wasn't occupied by him

CL: Where applicant was not in possession of quarter of company-in-liquidation, he could not seek execution of sale deed in respect of that quarter in his favour

High Court struck down CST Rule of Kerala requiring production of additional docs to avail of exempt

CST & VAT : Rule 11B(2)(c) of Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957 requiring production of additional documents for availing of exemption from payment of tax on subsequent sale than documents prescribed under section 6(2) of Central Act is invalid and ultra vires being inconsistent with Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957

No TDS on sums paid by EY to its group concerns to reimburse cost of services utilized in its busine

IT : Assessee was not liable to deduct TDS under section 195 on amount paid to foreign group concerns towards reimbursement of cost of administrative and management support services

No relief from disclosure under takeover code if Financial Institution acquires pledged shares on bo

CL : Proviso to Regulation 29(4) of the SAST Regulations,2011 only exempts a Public Financial Institution /Scheduled Bank from making disclosures in respect of deemed acquisitions of shares of a listed company by way of pledge referred to in Regulation 29(4). It does not exempt actual acquisitions by pledgee of invocation of pledge when borrower defaults

Transportation of Chicks within same State couldn't be objected to by revenue requiring its valuatio

CST & VAT : Where assessee was transporting chicks within State of Kerala and Competent Authority detained same on plea that value of chicks had not been disclosed at floor rate prescribed in two circulars, since circulars would be applicable only for import of chicks into State, chicks could not be detained on question of undervaluation

A trust couldn't be deemed as discretionary even if it allocated its income to a special fund held b

IT: Where as per trust deed 50 per cent income was to be received by one set of beneficiaries and balance 50 per cent of income was to be received by trustees on behalf of second set of beneficiaries and were to be accumulated as a special fund in hands of trustees for 19 years and same were to be paid after a period of 19 years to respective beneficiaries, it cannot be said that Trust was discretionary Trust and/or was not a specific Trust

Due date for filing of ST-3 Form for period April to Sep. 2014 has been extended from 25-10-2014 to

ST LAWS : Rule 7 of The Service Tax Rules, 1994 – Returns – Extension of Date of Submission of Form ST-3 from 25-10-2014 TO 14-11-2014

CBEC constitutes review committee of Commissioner of Central Excise and Service tax

ST LAWS/EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Section 86 of The Finance Act, 1994 – Appeals to Appellate Tribunal – Constitution of Review Committee of Commissionerates of Central Excise and Service Tax

Goods used in repairing of transformer wouldn't be includible in value of services if VAT was paid t

Service Tax : Where : (a) value of goods and materials used for repair of transformers was separately disclosed in agreement and invoices; (b) excise duty or VAT was paid on said goods, said goods were not includible in value of services for purpose of levy of service tax

Investment made on last day of FY proved that no exp. was incurred to earn exempt income for sec. 14

IT: No disallowance of interest could be made under section 14A where investment was made by assessee on last day of relevant year

New SEBI ESOP Regulations are notified; allow implementation of scheme through an irrevocable trust

SEBI/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014

FinMin constitutes committee for comments on TARC recommendations in its previous two reports

IT : Constitution of Committees for Preparing Comments on TARC Recommendations on First and Second Reports

Board asks CCITs to monitor cases of non-filing of return by taxpayers who have filed e-returns duri

IT : Section 139 of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Return of Income – Measures for Revenue Augmentation – Calling for Returns of Income in Case of Non-Filers for A.Y. 2014

Discount to foreign buyer in lieu of advance payments was in nature of interest; liable to TDS

IT/ILT: Pre-payment discount given by assessee to foreign buyers in absence of any mention in purchase contract that assessee was obliged to give said discount, was in nature of interest and tax was deductible at source under section 195

Special brand rate of drawback was available even if assessee had claimed drawback at rate prevailin

Excise & Customs : In absence of any prohibition, manufacturer or exporter is not barred from seeking a determination of special brand rate under rule 7 merely because, at time of export, he had applied for and was granted drawback at all industry rate under rule 3; CBEC Letter F. No. 606/04/2011-DBK, dated 30-12-2011 clarifying to contrary was struck down

CLB could pass an order to clarify its order in case of bona-fide omission or ambiguity in original

CL : CLB may pass an order clarifying its own judgment order passed earlier

Industrial camera used as printing machine falls under Entry No. 75 of Part A of Schedule II to Guja

CST & VAT: Where assessee was engaged in business of manufacturing industrial camera, which was used by printers as one of printing machine, such camera would fall under Entry No. 75 of Part A of Schedule II to Gujarat Sale Tax Act, 1969

Mere non-mentioning of block period in block assessment notice won't vitiate proceedings under sec.

IT : Non-mentioning of block period in notice issued under section 158BC would not invalidate notice nor would vitiate proceedings as one without jurisdiction

Prior to 18-4-2006, services received in India from outside India wasn't taxable under reverse charg

Service Tax : Services provided from outside India and received in India are taxable only from 18-4-2006 after introduction of section 66A; they cannot be taxed under reverse charge for period prior thereto

Sec. 80-IA relief given on owning of/maintenance of Container Freight Station as it was an infrastr

IT: Assessee could claim deduction under section 80-IA even in absence of any specific agreement with government if it had complied with all terms and conditions

Selection Committee of Competition Appellate Tribunal to recommend names for vacancy in order of mer

COMPETITION ACT : Competition Appellate Tribunal (Term of The Selection Committee and The Manner of Selection of Panel of Names) Amendment Rules, 2014 – Substitution of Rule 5

No denial of working capital adjustment on ground that capital deployed by comparables wasn't ascert

IT/ILT : Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering software development services to its AE, in view of fact that some of comparables were inappropriate on account of functional difference, merger etc., impugned adjustment was to be set aside

Construction of river reservoir amounts to Commercial or Industrial Construction Services

Service Tax : Construction of river reservoir and raising heights thereof does not amount to 'Site Formation and Clearance, Excavation and Earthmoving and Demolition Services'; it is Commercial or Industrial Construction Services and is not eligible for abatement, as land and electricity was provided free to assessee

Applicant's claim on property of liquidating-Co. was time-barred as it failed to execute conveyance

CL : Where applicant did not take any steps for execution of conveyance deed for 3 years in respect of property of company in liquidation, applicant's claim was barred by limitation

SEZ developer got sec. 80-IAB relief on sale of bare shell structure of building to co-developer

IT : If a developer of SEZ develop and transfer a bare shell structure of building to a co-developer, such an activity would be an authorized activity under SEZ Act eligible for deduction under section 80-IAB

Notice for sale of land was valid as transferor failed to prove that transfer wasn’t made to defraud

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer in order to recover arrears of tax due from one 'B' had attached his land and thereafter 'B' had sold said land to assessee, since 'B' had not discharged initial onus showing that transfer of land was not with intention to defraud revenue, action of Assessing Officer putting charged land to sale could not be faulted

Non-recording of huge quantity of finished goods in SLA attracts penalty and confiscation

Excise & Customs : In case of non-accountal of huge quantities of only few varieties of finished products, for which no sufficient explanation is furnished, department may impose confiscation and penalty under rule 25 of Central Excise Rules, 2002

HC treats exp. on issuance of bonds as revenue in nature as they were issued for carrying out financ

IT : Lease equalisation charges cannot be reduced while calculating profits

Defects in memorandum of appeal were rectifiable if appeal was solely rejected due to defects and no

CST & VAT : Where Appellate Authority rejected appeal of assessee on account of defects in memorandum of appeal and not on merits, assessee was permitted to rectify defects in memorandum of appeal

Market development allowance received by co-operative society was eligible for sec. 80P relief, says

IT : Grant received by assessee-society from Government as market development allowance is business income eligible for deduction under section 80P

Capital loss on sale of industrial unit couldn’t be set off from profits of sale of separate busines

IT: Where polymer manufacturing unit at Vizag and industrial land in Gujarat were separate properties, loss suffered in one transaction could not be set off against profit made in another transaction

Delay due to wrong advice of authorized representative couldn’t be condoned without filing his affid

Excise & Customs : Where delay is claimed to have been incurred on account of wrong advice of authorised representative, who was ex-employee of Department, said delay cannot be condoned without supporting affidavit of such representative

HC directed Liquidator to pay off interest on claims of ex-employees of liquidating-Co.

CL: Where applicant sought for payment of interest on claims of ex-employees of company-in-liquidation, Official Liquidator was directed to declare rate of interest and pay same

Mere pendency of remand order couldn't be a reason to deny refund of amount already deposited as pen

CST & VAT : Where order imposing penalty was remanded, original order did subsist; mere pendency of remand case would not entitle department to retain amount deposited as penalty

ITAT couldn’t set-aside revisional order of CIT without examining vital issues of the case: HC

IT : Where Tribunal set aside order of Commissioner, giving certain direction in block assessment without considering certain vital issues, matter was remanded for fresh consideration

ST demand arising consequent to retro-amendments would invite interest and not penalty, rules High C

Service Tax : Where demand of Service Tax has been validated by way of series of retrospective amendments, issue of notice for recovery and demand of interest was valid but penalty could not be levied

No disallowance of expenditure even if assets of co. were used by its directors for personal purpose

IT : Amount of employees provident fund, etc. deposited before due date of filing return cannot be disallowed under section 43B

ITAT deletes TP adjustment as average price of certain transactions with AEs matched with actual tra

IT/ILT: Where for determining ALP, assessee had compared minimum and maximum price in market on a particular day and average price charged for eight transactions with its AE, was exactly what Arm's Length Price should be after aggregation, there was no scope for adjustments

Delay in filing appeal due to mistake in preamble of adjudication order was condonable

Service Tax : Where preamble of adjudication order passed by Joint Commissioner stated that appeal would lie to Tribunal and, relying upon said preamble, assessee wrongly filed appeal before Tribunal instead of Commissioner (Appeals), delay caused thereby was condonable, even if said preamble was corrected in due course

SAT: Obligation to make continued disclosure is mandatory, irrespective of declaration made in an op

SEBI - Obligation to make disclosures under regulation 30 of Takeover Regulation is mandatory irrespective of declaration under Regulation 8(2)

Tractor tyres and tubes would be liable to 1% additional tax under sec. 3A of UP VAT act

CST & VAT : Tractor tyres and tubes would be liable to additional tax under section 3A of U.P. VAT Act, 2008 under Entry No. 1 of Notification dated 31-3-2011 at 1 per cent

Mere non-commencement of charitable activities won't lead to denial of trust's registration

IT : Mere non-carrying on of vigorous charitable activities per se cannot be detrimental for registration of trust

No invocation of extended period as all facts were disclosed in ER-1 and they could have been scruti

Excise & Customs : Where all facts were disclosed in ER-1 and demand could have been raised only on a scrutiny of said ER-1, there was no fraud, collusion, misstatement or suppression of facts and extended period could not be invoked

HC upheld concealment penalty on assessee’s failure to disclose refundable deposit on empty liquor b

IT : Income from refundable empty bottle deposits being not disclosed either in profit and loss account or in balance sheet, levy of penalty was justified

Reassessment was valid as it was initiated when set off of State tax on purchases was wrongly allowe

CST & VAT : Where Additional Commissioner issued on assessee a notice under section 21(2) of U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 proposing to reopen assessment on ground that while assessing assessee to Central Sales Tax, a set off had been wrongly given of amount of State tax paid on purchase of paddy, impugned notice was valid in law

CBDT notifies jurisdictions of Principal CITs and CITs

IT : Section 120(1) and (2) of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Income-Tax Authorities - Jurisdiction of – Supersession of Notification No. SO 733(E), DATED 31-7-2001

CBDT directs various CIT (Exemptions) to exercise powers in respect of notified cases or classes

IT : Section 120(1) and (2) of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Income-Tax Authorities - Jurisdiction of – Supersession of Notification No. SO 880(E), DATED 14-9-2001

CBDT seeks formation of committee to resolve issue of estimation of income of fish farmers not maint

IT : Section 143 of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Assessment - General – Framing of Scrutiny Assessments in Cases of Fish Farmers Involved in Running Inland Fresh Water Fish Tanks

Even issue relating to limitation period couldn't be appealed before HC if original order related to

Excise & Customs : Jurisdiction of High Court as an appellate forum would depend upon issues adjudicated and decided in order in original; hence, where order in original decided dispute relating to rate of duty, even issues relating to invocation of extended period of limitation could not be raised before High Court

Exp. on civil and electrical work necessitating installation of windmill was eligible for depreciati

IT : Where foundation, civil and electrical works were necessary for installation of windmill, depreciation at rate of 80 per cent was to be allowed

Dishonour of cheque on stop payment instructions given to bank was punishable under Negotiable Instr

Negotiable Instrument : Even stop payment instructions issued to bank would make a person liable for offence punishable under section 138 in case cheque is dishonoured on that Count

HC ordered reduction of pre-deposit amount as it was causing financial hardship to assessee

CST & VAT: High Court reduced pre-deposit as it was causing financial hardship to assessee

Mere plea of involvement of large public interest won’t be enough to condone delay in filing appeal

IT: Affidavits filed by revenue for condonation of delay on ground that large public interest was involved and that its officers had admitted lapses, was unjustified

High Court ordered payment of VAT as assessee had discontinued its business during exemption period

CST & VAT: Where assessee had established a unit for manufacturing of PVC granules and it had been granted exemption from tax for period from 22-4-1993 to 21-4-2000 and it availed of sales tax exemption, since assessee had discontinued business from January, 1997, it was liable to make payment of entire tax exemption availed of

Property deemed to be transferred when it was handed over to builder on receipt of first installment

IT : Where assessee handed over possession of property to builder on first instalment of sale consideration, transfer of property took place when said instalment was received

Sec. 54B: ITAT directs AO to examine as to whether land was agricultural and used for such purposes

IT: Where whether land was an agricultural land and whether it was used for agricultural purpose in immediately two preceding years prior to sale of land were not considered by lower authority, issue of exemption under section 54B to be re-adjudicated

Appeal dismissed as assessee failed to satisfy pre-deposit order and hadn't pleaded to extend time t

Service Tax : Where assessee has failed to comply with pre-deposit order and has also not applied for modification of said order or extension of time to make pre-deposit, assessee's appeal is liable to be dismissed as per section 35F

Sec. 92CA only empowers TPO to determine ALP of transaction; he can't reject payment made to AE

IT/ILT : In transfer pricing proceedings, role of TPO is to determine arm's length price of a transaction but he cannot reject entire payment made to AE under provisions of section 92C

HC admitted winding-up of respondent as it neither raised any bona-fide dispute nor it appeared befo

CL : Where respondent failed to remain present before Court in winding up petition filed by petitioner and accordingly did not raise any bona fide dispute with regard to debt payable to petitioner, winding up petition was to be admitted

ITAT deletes penalty as seized docs related to group concerns but addition was made in hands of asse

IT : Where AO wrongly presumed that rough working of tax payable shown in seized documents related to assessee alone, but same actually belonged to group of companies, no penalty was to be levied

ITAT upheld CIT's revisional order as AO had erroneously granted higher depreciation on windmills

IT : ITAT upheld CIT's revisional order as AO had erroneously granted higher depreciation on windmills

SC: Sales tax retained by assessee under exemption scheme wasn't deductible from transaction value

Excise & Customs : Sales-tax retained by assessee under an exemption/concession scheme cannot be regarded as 'tax actually paid or payable' and is, therefore, not deductible especially when there was nothing in scheme that such retained sales tax was liable to be adjusted against any capital subsidy entitlement of assessee

Bad-debts allowed on non-recovery of broker's commission after reducing sums recovered on sale of cl

IT : A stock broker is entitled to deduction as bad debt of amount unrecoverable from clients as reduced by sum recoverable on sale of shares kept with broker

No disallowance of interest if interest free advances were given by assessee to meet his business ex

IT Where assessee used premises of other person for storage purpose and being actual user of premises paid electricity expenses for it, said expenses were allowable as business expenses

Turnover of branch closed on last day of preceding year has to be taken to determine compounded tax

CST & VAT : Where assessee opted to pay compounded tax under section 8(f)(i) of Kerala VAT Act and one of its branches was closed down on last date of previous financial year 2011-12, it was not entitled to exclude turnover of above branch for determining compounded tax payable for next financial year 2012-13

No disallowance of interest in interest free advances were given by assessee to meet his business ex

IT Where assessee used premises of other person for storage purpose and being actual user of premises paid electricity expenses for it, said expenses were allowable as business expenses

SEBI raises proprietary position limits for non-banker stock brokers for currency derivative contrac

SEBI : Revision of Proprietary Position Limits of Non-Bank Stock Brokers for Currency Derivatives Contracts

Assessee couldn't challenge order of ITAT if it had applied amended provisions of MAT pursuant to di

IT : Where Tribunal pursuant to directions issued by High Court, disposed of assessee's appeal by applying amended provisions of section 115JB, assessee could not challenge said order of Tribunal taking a new plea that section 115JB was inapplicable in its case

High Court ordered payment of VAT as assessee had discounted its business during exemption period

CST & VAT: Where assessee had established a unit for manufacturing of PVC granules and it had been granted exemption from tax for period from 22-4-1993 to 21-4-2000 and it availed of sales tax exemption, since assessee had discontinued business from January, 1997, it was liable to make payment of entire tax exemption availed of

Petitioner ceased to be director when he had resigned and remained absent during 3 consecutive board

CL: Where petitioner had resigned from directorship of respondent-company and had remained absent for three consecutive board meetings, petitioner had ceased to be director and company was directed to file Form 32 with ROC

Contributions to the Swach Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund are eligible CSR exp. - MCA notifies

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Schedule VII of The Companies Act, 2013 – Amendment in Schedule VII

SEBI raises proprietary position limits for non-banker stock brokers for currency

SEBI : Revision of Proprietary Position Limits of Non-Bank Stock Brokers for Currency Derivatives Contracts

ITAT denied sec. 10(23B) relief to assessee as it failed to produce exemption certificate for impugn

IT: If assessee does not have exemption certificate for a particular assessment year, benefit of exemption under section 10(23B) for that year cannot be granted to assessee

No denial of reassessment due to time constraint if it was made in consequence of finding/direction

IT : Where by an order any income is excluded from total income of an assessee for an assessment year, then assessment of such income for another assessment year shall be deemed to be made in consequence of any finding or direction contained in said order

HC remands penalty proceedings as main proceedings were pending for adjudication before ITAT

IT : Matter remanded to decide issue of penalty under section 271AAA since quantum appeal was pending consideration before Tribunal

Fee from marketing services was business profit as presence of NR's employees in India constituted s

IT/ILT : Marketing and management fee received by assessee on account of services outside India was not in nature of fees for technical services article 12 and should be charged to tax as per article 7 on net basis assessee did not make available its expertise and technical knowledge

Interest couldn’t be demanded beyond 1 year of relevant date if differential duty was shown in ER-1

ST : Where differential duty arising on differential price-rise was shown in ER-1 returns filed with department, department can demand interest thereon only within 1 year from relevant date and cannot invoke extended period

HC denied arbitral proceedings against liquidating Co.; directs applicant to lodge its claim with li

CL : Where applicant sought for initiation of arbitration proceedings for repayment of its dues from respondent company in liquidation, applicant was not granted leave to proceed with arbitration and was permitted to lodge its claim with Official Liquidator

Bank estopped from claiming interest on debt as it had agreed to liquidator's method of disbursing p

CL : Where appellant secured creditor agreed to Official Liquidator's method for disbursement of company's funds by paying only principal sum, appellant was estopped from challenging such method

Assessment to be made within 1 year of revival of proceeding if it got revived on non-payment of tax

IT : Tax being un-paid till specified date, proceedings before Settlement Commission was to be held abated

Input credit available on consumables used in work contract as assessee was manufacturing dutiable p

CST & VAT : Where assessee was engaged in business of printing and dyeing of fabrics manufactured by itself as also printing and dyeing of fabrics on works contract for others, it was entitled to deduction of input tax paid on consumables used in process of works contract

No denial of sec. 11 relief on non-filing of Form 10 if details about sums set apart for next year i

IT : Section 11 exemption cannot be denied merely on ground of furnishing Form 10 information by way of letter

ITAT directs TPO to re-examine ALP as assessee was in first year of operation and had incurred high

IT : Where variation in arm's length price took place because assessee company was in its first year of operation and it incurred higher expenditure on import duty on raw material, matter was to be remanded to TPO for re-consideration

HC grants complete stay of demand as Apex's Court's verdict relied upon by revenue was overruled in

CST & VAT: Where Assessing Authority made assessment relying upon decision of Supreme Court rendered in case of State of Andhra Pradesh v. Kone Elevators (India) Ltd. [2005] 140 STC 22 and raised tax demand upon assessee, since said judgment had now been overruled by Supreme Court in another case, assessee was entitled to complete stay of demand

Exp. on installation of computer software and lift was in nature of revenue exp., rules HC

IT : Expenditure incurred on installation of computer software, electrical work and installation of lifts was to be allowed as revenue expenditure

ITAT directs AO to decide whether receipt for customized research/retail management services would r

IT/ILT : Where assessee, a US based company, received certain amount from rendering customised research services and retail management services to its group concerns located in India, conclude as to whether consideration received by assessee company would fall within meaning of 'Royalty' or 'Fees for included services', matter was to be remanded back for disposal afresh in light of article 12 of India USA DTAA

No evasion penalty merely for non-filling of invoice number and date in the declaration Form ST-18C

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer having found that in declaration form ST-18C column of 'invoice number and date' was not filled in imposed penalty upon assessee under section 78(5), imposition of penalty was not justified

No TDS on commission paid to foreign agent for carrying out export sales outside India

IT/ILT: Where a non-resident agent of an Indian company operates outside country and payment is remitted directly abroad, merely because an entry in books of Indian Company is made, it does not mean that the non-resident has received any payment in India

HC reduced pre-deposit as CBEC's circular beneficial to assessee was not considered by lower authori

Excise & Customs : In view of circular No. 34/2007-Cus., dated 17-9-2007 separate chemically defined compounds are classifiable under Chapter 29

HC denied refund of pre-deposit as NPA amount payable by petitioner exceeded pre-deposit made before

SARFAESI : Where NPA amounts payable by petitioner to bank exceeded total deposit made by petitioner before Tribunal for hearing its appeal, application for refund of 25 per cent of deposit was to be rejected

Cultivation of land and its classification as agricultural land in revenue records proved it as a ag

IT-I : Where pursuant to search carried out in case of 'P', Assessing Officer recorded a satisfaction note that certain incriminating material seized belonged to assessee and, it was on basis of said satisfaction recorded in course of proceedings under section 153A, assessment proceedings were initiated in case of assessee under section 153C, there being no infirmity in procedure adopted by revenue, validity of impugned proceedings was to be upheld

HC upheld VAT penalty on assessee when declaration Form ST-18A was found blank

CST & VAT : When declaration Form ST-18A accompanied with goods in transit was found blank, levy of penalty under section 78(5) of Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was justified

Mere writing off of provision would not trigger sec. 41(1) if it wasn’t claimed as deduction in prio

IT : Where assessee only made a provision for a possible expenditure or liability and neither an allowance nor deduction was claimed, section 41(1) would not apply

ITAT directs AO to examine technicality of a service before treating it as 'FTS'

IT/ILT : Where by nomenclature of services provided by assessee, a foreign company, to its associate concerns, it was not clear as to what technicality was involved, Assessing Officer shall examine relevant documents to ascertain nature of services rendered

Assessing authority couldn’t pass order if assessee's counsel failed to attend hearing due to person

CST & VAT : Where assessee's counsel could not attend at time of hearing because of his personal reason and thereupon Assessing Authority and Appellate Authority passed orders on assessee without giving opportunity, matter was sent back to make fresh assessment after affording opportunity to assessee

Respondent-Co. couldn’t refuse to transfer pledged shares to petitioner after making-up default in p

CL: Respondent-company could not refuse to transfer pledged shares in name of petitioner where right to shares had already accrued to petitioner on account of default in payment by respondent-company

Bank not to succumb to disgenuous attempt of a woman; should follow SARFAESI norms

CL: Where petitioner had borrowed money from bank and upon being unable to repay same, bank had taken possession of secured asset pursuant to orders obtained by Court and since no law or any fact had been cited in petition for Court to deviate from procedure; bank was to be permitted to take steps in accordance with orders passed by Magistrate under section 14 of SARFAESI Act, 2002

ITAT allows benefit of second proviso to sec. 40(a)(ia) in case of payment to NR; Non-discrimination

IT/ILT: Rigour of disallowance of payment under Section 40(a)(ia) is relaxed in case of payment to resident if recipient pays taxes on such sum and files return of income - Whether it would be contrary to scheme of DTAA and discriminatory if similar relaxation is not allowed under Section 40(a)(i) in case of payment to non-resident without withholding of taxes if such non-resident pays taxes on such sum and files return of income - Held Yes, Whether relaxation under second proviso to Section 40(

Hire charges paid to UAE ship operating in international traffic was taxable only in UAE as per Indi

IT/ILT: Where for purpose of export, assessee hired vessel owned by a UAE company which operated only in international traffic/waters between India and Maldives, in view of Indo-UAE DTAA, hire charges paid to UAE company had to be taxed only in UAE

Ministry appoints officers of directorate of enforcement to adjudicate cases involving violation of

FEMA/ILT : Section 16 of The Foreign Exchange Manangement Act, 1999 - Appointment of Adjudicating Authority - Notified Adjudicating Authorities

Ministry appoints officers for adjudicating cases involving violation of FEMA under repealed Act

FEMA/ILT : Section 50, Read with Section 4 of The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (Repealed Act) - Penalty / Appointment and Powers of Officers of Enforcement - Notified Officers of Enforcement

RBI reviews guidelines on joint lenders forum and corrective action plan

BANKING : Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in The Economy - Review of The Guidelines on Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) and Corrective action Plan (CAP)

Assessee couldn’t plead for ignorance of proceedings when it had received SCN and had sought adjourn

Service Tax : Having received show-cause notice and sought adjournment once, assessee cannot plead ignorance of proceedings or violation of natural justice when three notices of personal hearing went unserved due to assessee's door being locked

No denial of registration to trust on non-commencement of charitable activities without considering

IT: Application for registration under section 12AA could not be rejected on ground that assessee had not started its activities or its objects were mixed; objects of trust to be considered

No question of law arose from order of Tax Board as it had only restored the case to AO

CST & VAT: Where assessee claimed sale in question as sale within State and Assessing Officer treated sale as inter-State sale and Tax Board without deciding any issue restored matter to Assessing Officer to frame assessment de novo, no question of law arose out of order of Tax Board

Legal exp. incurred by developer to recover interest-free deposit from tenants was allowable as busi

IT : Licence fee paid by assessee to group resource company providing centralized resources to all group companies for availing valuable benefits, was allowable as business expenditure

Tribunal can extend stay beyond 365 days after passing speaking order that delay isn’t attributable

Excise & Customs : Tribunal may extend waiver of pre-deposit/stay of demand beyond 365 days (total) only if : (a) delay in disposing appeal is not attributable to assessee and (b) a speaking/reasoned order is passed

Sec. 12AA registration denied as medical trust was collecting sum on assurance of admission in colle

IT : Where assessee trust formed with an object of running a medical college, started collecting unaccounted money on assurance of providing employment and admission in said college even before obtaining recognition from MCI and affiliation from concerned university, it was to be concluded that its purpose was to run medical college with profit motive and, therefore, assessee's claim for registration under section 12AA was to be rejected

Commission paid to foreign agents for procuring export orders wasn't covered under the ambit of 'FTS

IT/ILT : Where assessee company paid commission to its non resident agents for services rendered for completion of its export commitment, assessee would not be liable to deduct TDS on said payment made

Jurisdiction of appeal before HC/SC has to be determined by contents of original order and not by or

Excise & Customs : Issues/Contentions decided in order-in-original would determine whether an appeal would lie before High Court or Supreme Court and issue decided by Tribunal and raised before appellate court would not be relevant; therefore, if order-in-original deals with charge/rate of duty, appeal would lie to Supreme Court only

HC sanctions amalgamation scheme as petitioners had dealt with issues raised by Regional Director/sh

CL : Where petitioner companies had satisfied all queries of Regional Director in respect of proposed scheme of amalgamation, scheme was to be approved

Rise in price with retro-effect doesn’t lead to invocation of extended period for recovery of intere

ST : In case of retrospective price-rise, assessee is liable to pay differential duty thereon along with interest and extended period of limitation cannot be invoked for recovery of interest if duty has been paid, as there is no fraud, collusion, etc.

Assessee couldn’t claim business losses if all exp. had been incurred to earn income from house prop

IT: Where expenses had been incurred for purpose of earning of house property income and not in doing business and consequently there was no business loss which could be set off against income from house property, set off was rightly disallowed

Writ seeking direction to Govt. to amend ST laws allowing abatement on reimbursement of statutory wa

Service Tax : Where assessee sought writ of mandamus : (a) directing Government to amend law and (b) directing CBEC to withdraw/amend clarification, High Court held that : (i) no direction can be issued to Government to amend law and (b) assessee could approach CBEC for withdrawal/amendment of clarification

Sec. 14A disallowance can be triggered even in respect of investments yielding no exempt income

IT : Disallowance under section 14A, read with rule 8D is to be made not only in respect of income which does not form part of total income but also in respect of income which shall not form part of total income

SC allows withdrawal of SLP against order directing GTA to payback refund received under nullified j

Service Tax : Supreme Court permitted withdrawal special leave petitions against judgment of High Court holding that : (a) assessee includes agent of person liable to pay service tax; (b) where GTA received refund of tax paid by service recipient under reverse charge, same is received as an agent of assessee being assessee and therefore, (c) in case of subsequent recovery, GTA has to payback refund received it

HC admitted winding up of Co. as debt owed to bank wasn't disputed and it wasn't in a position to pa

CL: Where respondent-company had disputed neither debt owed to petitioner-bank nor fact that it had been unable to discharge its debt, winding up petition against it was to be admitted

Comparables chosen by assessee couldn't be ignored merely if it had sustained losses in earlier year

IT/ILT: Comparable cases cannot be ignored merely on ground of loss suffered by assessee in some years

Ministry increases validity period of industrial license; does away with stipulation of annual capac

FDI/FEMA/ILT : Streamlining The Procedure for Grant of Industrial Licenses

Stock Exchanges can waive-off penalty for client code modification of non-institutional trade due to

SEBI : Modification of Client Codes of Non-Institutional Trades Executed on Stock Exchanges (All Segments)

Directors are liable on dishonour of cheques if they are in charge of business of Co.; SC's obiter d

CL : Once in a complaint filed under section 138 read with section 141 of the Negotiable Instrument Act basic averment is made that Director was in charge of and responsible for conduct of business of company at relevant time when offence was committed, Magistrate can issue process against such Director

Assessment in hands of trust quashed as trust deed clearly defined beneficiaries and their share of

IT: Where assessee, a revocable trust, was formed with object of making investment in mezzanine fund, in view of fact that trust deed gave clear description of beneficiaries/contributories and thus, those beneficiaries were not uncertain and moreover, as regards share of each beneficiary, trustees were duty bound to follow distribution mechanism specified in trust deed, conditions regarding applicability of section 164(1) did not satisfy and, thus, assessment made in hands of assessee-trust in t

No TDS liability of employer on sums remitted under approved VRS if value of benefits didn’t exceed

IT : Once scheme for voluntary retirement is approved, occasion to effect deduction of tax at source would arise only if benefit of a particular employee exceeds Rs. five lakhs

Reassessment made without verification of books was liable to rectification proceedings

CST & VAT : Where reassessment order was passed without looking into books of account, application for rectification was to be accepted to verify books of account

AO to consider sec. 54B relief after verifying revenue records indicating status of land as agricult

IT : Where in support of claim for deduction under section 54B, assessee produced revenue record showing that land acquired by State Government was used for agricultural purpose, since said evidence was not considered by authorities below while rejecting assessee's claim, impugned order passed by them was to be set aside

SC: CCE(Appeals) can address question of facts and law but High Court can't adjudicate facts in writ

Excise & Customs : Commissioner (Appeals) can address both issues relating to facts and law keeping in view applicability of relevant provisions/ notifications

HC upheld reassessment as assessee had wrongly deducted interest on housing loan under sec. 57

IT : Where in course of assessment proceedings relating to subsequent assessment year, Assessing Officer received information that assessee had wrongly claimed deduction of interest under section 57 in respect of loan taken for purchase of residential house property, he was justified in initiating reassessment proceedings for relevant assessment year

Assessing authority to pass revisional order independently without being influenced by order of othe

CST & VAT : Assessing Authority has to take a decision independently while forming a final opinion and not pass orders based on influence of any other authority

When property in goods passes on to buyer is relevant to determine place of removal: CBEC clarifies

CENVAT CREDIT/EXCISE & CUSTOMS LAWS : Rule 2(qa) of The Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 – Place of Removal – Determination of – Clarifications on Relevant Considerations to ascertain Place of Removal

Income from letting out of factory alongwith Machinery was taxable as business receipt if both were

IT: Where assessee, engaged in manufacture and sale of IMFL products, let out entire factory alongwith excise licence and plant and machinery, in view of provisions of section 56(2)(iii), amount of lease rent was liable to be taxed as 'business income'

CLB ordered investigation against Co. as it was conducted in a manner to defraud petitioner-Co and i

CL: Where circumstances suggested that business of company was being conducted with intend to defraud petitioner and its members, investigation into affairs of respondent No. 1 was to be ordered

Cotton waste won’t come within the meaning of scrap to attract TCS under sec. 206C

IT: Where assessee obtained/filed Form 27C for non-collection of tax at source technical breach of submitting same by applying section 154 was liable to be condoned

If pre-deposit in cash was causing undue hardship to assessee, recovery could be ensured by attachme

Excise & Customs : Where making of pre-deposit in cash is not possible due to undue hardship, interests of revenue may be safeguarded by ordering attachment of property belonging to assessee to ensure recovery

AO can’t seek to add notional interest for shares pledged by a co. to enable its sister concern to r

IT : Where borrower issued shares to assessee-NBFC as a measure of repaying loans and, since interest was waived by assessee-NBFC, borrower had not booked liability toward current year's interest in its account books, such interest did not form income to assessee for year

AO can’t seek to add notional interest for shares pledged by a co. to enable its sister concern to r

IT : Where borrower issued shares to assessee-NBFC as a measure of repaying loans and, since interest was waived by assessee-NBFC, borrower had not booked liability toward current year's interest in its account books, such interest did not form income to assessee for year

CIT couldn’t make revision alleging lack of inquiries by AO without proving that his findings were e

IT : Commissioner must reach a finding that finding of Assessing Officer was erroneous, not because inquiries were not conducted, but because final finding was wrong and untenable

No disallowance of TDS if tax liability arose subsequently due to retro-amendment to definition of r

IT/ILT: Where assessee had made payments for sales promotion activities, in foreign currency and tax authorities had failed to show that payment received by non-resident was liable to tax in India either in terms of Indian Income tax Act or in terms of Indo-US DTAA, assessee was not liable to deduct TDS on such payments made to a foreign resident

HC advises Tribunal not to hesitate in passing lengthy order after considering entire materials on r

Service Tax : Where assessee was claiming that it had received services in 2004-05 and made payment therefor in 2008-09, Tribunal could not confirm demand under section 66A without considering invoices, agreements, ledger account, etc.

SAT upheld penalty on appellant-Co. as it failed to make timely disclosure under SEBI Takeover norms

SEBI : Where company and its promoters failed to make timely disclosures under Takeover Regulations, penalty was rightly imposed upon them for violating such provisions

No reassessment to deny provision for doubtful-debts as application of income if it was disclosed in

IT : Where in income and expenditure account, stock exchange had already reflected 'provision for doubtful accounts', reassessment after four years could not be made holding that same could not be treated as application income under section 11

No penalty without proving fraud/collusion even if extended period has been invoked and accepted by

Excise & Customs : Even if revenue has invoked extended period of limitation for confirmation of demand and even if same has been accepted by assessee for payment of duty, penalty cannot be levied without first proving fraud, collusion, etc

Commercial expediency for an exp. is assessee's decision; TPO shall only compute its ALP in uncontro

IT/ILT : TPO cannot treat Arm's Length Price of services paid for as 'Nil' by considering the services as worthless so long as the agreement under which they are rendered is not a sham and services are actually rendered under the agreement by the other party. All that TPO can see is at what price similar services, whatever be their worth, are actually rendered in uncontrolled conditions. Whether services are commercially expedient or not is a call for the assessee to take and not for the TPO to

Sec. 144C assessment order had to be quashed if AO didn't furnish draft assessment order to assessee

IT/ILT : Assessment order u/s 144C is illegal and liable to be quashed if draft assessment order to which assessee is entitled to u/s 144C(15) is not furnished to the assessee by AO to enable assessee to approach DRP if he wants

Dealers have permission to pay lump sum tax if they transfer goods in works contract and apply for A

CST & VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Gujarat Value Added Tax (Amendment ) Rules, 2014 – Amendment in Rule 28

Receipt on account of carbon credit given to assessee is a capital receipt

IT : Where a basket of 'market value' was available for computing profitability of an undertaking on captive consumption of power, assessee could choose any one of them as market value

Assessee can’t escape from concealment penalty by declaring income pursuant to survey proceedings

IT : Where assessee, engaged filed a revised return pursuant to survey proceedings declaring certain undisclosed income, said return could not be regarded as a voluntary return and, therefore, assessee being guilty of concealment of particulars of income, was liable to pay penalty under section 271(1)(c)

Seizure of goods was illegal as officer didn’t handover seized goods to jurisdictional AO within spe

IT : Seized articles are required to be handedover within 15 days of seizure to Assessing Officer who has jurisdiction over searched person

HC directs hearing of appeal without any further pre-deposit as assessee had already made substantia

CST & VAT : Where Tribunal directed assessee to deposit 10 per cent of penalty amount as a precondition for hearing appeal, since assessee had made substantial deposits, appeal before Tribunal deserved to be heard without any deposit

No disallowance of interest on loan if firm extended interest free loan to partners from its funds

IT : Where assessee utilised borrowed fund in business and gave interest free advances to partners, etc. from interest free fund, disallowance of interest on borrowed fund would not be justified

Petitioner had no locus to file oppression plea as he had resigned from directorship and sold his en

CL: Where petitioner resigned from directorship suo moto and sold his entire shareholding, he was not qualified to file petition alleging acts of oppression and mismanagement

HC allows interest at 8% on delayed refund of rebate on export of goods

Excise & Customs : Where rebate was first denied and later allowed by revisional authority, which caused inordinate delay, High Court granted interest at 8 per cent p.a. on delayed refund from expiry of 3 months from first rejection of rebate

CIT couldn't make addition on money lending activity if it wasn't a subject matter of assessment bef

IT : Where money lending activity was not subject matter of assessment before Assessing Officer, Commissioner (Appeals) erred in making addition on said issue

CIT had to verify only objects of trust for its registration even if it hadn’t commenced charitable

IT : Commencement of activity is not a pre-condition for registration of trust when objects of trust and its genuineness is not questioned

Sec. 234D applicable in case of assessments completed after June 1, 2003 without considering year of

IT : In case of any assessment completed after 1-6-2003, regardless of year of assessment, provisions of section 234D would be applicable to such assessment year

Administrative charges collected on sale of fly ash couldn't be termed as business support services

Service Tax : Administrative charges towards sale of fly ash cannot be termed as business support service, more so when in respect of subsequent period, department was holding it to be not service, but sale of fly ash and recovering excise duty thereon

No winding-up petition against a Co. for non-recovery of debt due to its illegal status

CL: Once a debt is rendered unrecoverable owing to its illegal status, section 433(e) cannot be pressed into service for winding up of a company on ground that it did not pay such an illegal and unrecoverable debt

ITAT directs AO to re-examine ALP as assessee had filed annual reports of comparables rejected by TP

IT/ILT: Where TPO rejected comparables given by assessee on ground that annual report of those companies were not available, however, assessee filed financial summaries of those 9 companies and annual reports in case of 7 companies out of 9 companies, matter required readjudication

ITAT directs revenue to grant wealth tax exemption in respect of one house property owned by assesse

WT: Wealth tax exemption is available to single residential property

Tribunal can extend stay beyond 365 days after passing speaking order that delay isn't attributable

Excise & Customs : Assessee may apply for extension of stay even beyond 365 days from initial grant of stay, but, each time, Tribunal can grant extension for up to 180 days and that too, only if delay in disposing appeal is not due to assessee

ALP couldn't be adjusted in under-utilized capacity; doing so would deem perfect business conditions

IT/ILT : In view of provisions of Rule 10B(1)(e)(iii) of Income-tax Rules, 1962, relief granted by Commissioner (Appeals) by making adjustments on account of capacity under utilisation in results shown by tested party i.e. assessee herein and thus computing hypothetical financial results which tested party would have achieved in perfect conditions was impermissible in law

ALP of advertisement exp. reimbursed to foreign AE couldn't be taken at nil if it was incurred for I

IT/ILT : As long as expenses are incurred by AE under instructions from and on behalf of assessee, and assessee has reimbursed cost to AE without any mark up, arm's length price of said transaction cannot be taken at zero

No sec. 32A relief for investment in hotel as preparation of food items therein couldn’t be deemed a

IT : Preparation of food in hotel is not manufacture, thus hotel building is not a plant entitled to investment allowance

HC upheld revisional order as assessee failed to explain non-production of info demanded by AO

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer proposed to revise order of assessment and in absence of any materials produced by assessee he confirmed revision of assessment, since there was no explanation for non-production of information, order of assessment was affirmed

AO couldn’t invoke sec. 40A(3) to disallow cash payments if he had made additions by rejecting books

IT : Where Assessing Officer treated a part of sundry creditors as non-genuine taking a view that assessee could not file any details or no explanation was offered in respect to them, in view of fact that liability in question still existed in assessee's books of account, impugned addition was to be deleted

HC directs testing of toys imported from China to find out violations of foreign trade policy by ass

Excise & Customs : Where department had absolutely confiscated toys imported from China on ground of violation of Foreign Trade Policy, High Court directed testing of toys prior to upholding violation of Foreign Trade Policy

Info on black money can't be disclosed due to confidentiality clause in treaties; MoF seeks clarity

IT/ILT : Section 90 of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 – Double Taxation Agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Foreign Countries – Press Release on Filing of I.A. NO.14 IN WP(C) NO.176 OF 2009 (Ram Jethmalani & ORS. V. Union of India), by Union of India

No reassessment to change head of income if nature of income was duly scrutinized during assessment

IT : Where after scrutiny Assessing Officer treated a certain sum as capital gain, he could not treat said sum as business income by resorting to re-assessment

CLB directs Co. to redeem shares of existing shareholders first before issuance of further shares

CL : Where company failed to redeem preference shares due to absence of distributable profits and it had proposed to reissue further redeemable preference shares against existing preference shares, company was directed to first settle down claims of preference shareholders who were objectors to such issue

CBDT prescribes conditions to get automatic approval for long term bonds for concessional TDS under

IT/ILT : Section 194LC of The Income-Tax Act, 1961 - Income by Way of Interest from Indian Company - Approval of Long Term Bonds and Rate of Interest for the Purpose of Section 194LC

Contaminated aerated water isn't manufactured good if drained as per prevention of Food Adulteration

Excise & Customs : Aerated water drained on account of contamination, under/over filling of bottles or badly crowned bottles, in compliance with Weights and Measures Act as well as under Prevention of Food Adulteration Act was not 'marketable' and was, therefore, not excisable goods and not chargeable to excise duty

SC: HC can hear any question of law not formulated by it if it is satisfied that appeal involves suc

IT : High Court can hear appeal on any substantial question of law though not formulated by it if it is satisfied that case involves such question and records reasons therefor

Charges for abetment in smuggling of goods could be valid only if abettor had knowledge of goods bei

Excise & Customs : Charge of 'abetment in smuggling' and penalty therefor under Section 112 of Customs Act is valid only if it is shown that alleged abettor had knowledge of goods being 'smuggled goods' liable to confiscation under Act

Reassessment couldn’t be quashed if AO acted on opinion of audit party after satisfying himself

IT : Where Assessing Officer was convinced that depreciation was wrongly claimed at full rate, reassessment notice could not be quashed merely on ground that she formed opinion on basis of audit objection

Revenue couldn’t deny belated filing of tax refund on basis of CBDT’s old circular which was modifie

IT : Where subsequent to grant of TDS refunds, assessee received TDS certificates from its parties regarding which refund was not claimed, new refund claim was to be entertained

Comparable co. couldn't be excluded from list of comparables even if it belonged to a group having h

IT/ILT : A company engaged in financial reporting or NAV support services or investment accounting could not be compared with a company providing marketing and sales support services in respect of marine equipments

Charges collected by steamer agents for clearances of import/export of goods are liable to ST under

Service Tax : Various charges collected by steamer agents in respect of cargo imported or exported by their customers (pertaining to bill of lading, Delivery order, documentation, manifest, etc.) are liable to service tax from 10-9-2004 under Business Auxiliary Services

Smuggler and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Act doesn't prescribe any time-limit for issuance of show

SFEMA : SAFEMA does not prescribe any time limit for issuance of show-cause notice under section 6(1)

SEBI's circular advising exchanges to amend bye laws to increase limitation period for invoking arbi

SEBI : Circular issued by SEBI advising recognised stock exchanges to make amendments in their relevant bye-laws to modify period of limitation for invoking arbitration from six months to three years is valid

No deemed divided as recipient of loan/advance wasn’t a shareholder in lender-Co.

IT: Assessee was not liable to tax under section 2(22)(e) when it was not a shareholder

Area-based relief was available to a unit set-up in Kachchh prior to 31-12-2005 even if it began pro

Excise & Customs : Exemption to clearances from Kachchh under Notification No. 39/2001-CE is available if unit/plant and machineries have been fully commissioned/ installed prior to 31-12-2005, even if commercial production commences later on

Mere substantial hike in salary of directors won’t be enough to treat it as unreasonable without any

IT-I : In absence of any material brought on record to show how and in what manner to show salary paid to directors was excessive or not comparable with market rates, no part of such remuneration could be disallowed under section 40A(2)

Taxes paid by manufacturer of crockery on packing material used by it were eligible for rebate of sa

CST & VAT: Where assessee, a manufacturer of crockery, purchased material after payment of tax and used same for packing of crockery, it was entitled to rebate of sales tax paid

HC gives hearing chance to assessee against Show Cause notice alleging contravention of Sec. 269SS/2

IT: Where assessee challenged issuance of show cause notice on ground of non-applicability of sections 269SS and 269T to relevant facts, assessee should be given ample opportunity to submit its case before Commissioner who had issued notice

Central Excise dues don’t have precedence over dues recoverable under SARFAESI Act, rules HC

Excise & Customs : Dues payable to Central Excise Department do not, prima facie, have any precedence over right of a secured creditor under Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002

DIT(E) can’t function as AO to examine conditions stipulated under Sec. 11 while granting Sec. 12AA

IT : For achieving main charitable object if an institution carries on some commercial activity and generates profit therefrom such activities cannot be considered to be business activity with profit motive so long as profit earned is utilized for purpose of achieving charitable object

RBI delegates additional powers to regional offices for compounding of offences

FEMA/ILT : Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000 - Compounding of Contraventions under Fema, 1999

Payments made to retiring partners as per books without distribution of goodwill won’t trigger capit

IT: Where, on retirement, certain sum was paid to partners due to them as per books, and no portion of goodwill was paid to retiring partners, and goodwill remained with firm, section 45 was not attracted

No relief to petitioner-director on reduction of shareholding as she didn’t object to it in earlier

CL: Where petitioner-director was present in board meeting in which resolution for allotment of additional shares was passed and had signed annual returns as director, no relief would be granted to petitioner for reduction of her shareholding

Vibratory compactor was earth moving machinery; entitled to concessional tax rate under Karnataka Sa

CST & VAT : Vibratory compactor manufactured by assessee was earth moving machinery entitled for concessional tax under Karnataka VAT

ITAT treated gains from share transaction as capital gains as shares were held for relatively longer

IT: Where no funds were borrowed for purchasing shares, scrips were not repeatedly and frequently sold and purchased, and there was relatively long holding period, activity of share transaction would be treated as investment activity and not as business activity

Option for redemption fine is discretionary on import of prohibited goods, rules HC

Excise & Customs : Since import of Pneumatic Tyres and Tubes for Automotive Vehicles is subject to condition of BIS certification, any import without such certification would prima facie be prohibited and therefore, option of redemption fine in respect thereof would be discretionary

No further hike in GP rate if earlier additions were made after considering the undisclosed income

IT : Where after including income surrendered during survey on account of excess stock, gross profit rate became more than that worked out by AO, no addition could be made on account of low GP rate

Mere booking of flat with builder within two years of transfer of house would provide relief under s

IT : Where assessee having sold residential property, entered into an agreement with a builder within prescribed period of two years for purchase of flat payment of which was linked to stage of construction, assessee's claim for deduction under section 54 was to be allowed

[Indian Customs Non-Tariff Notification] : Amends Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), dated the 3rd August, 2001

SC admits appeal against CESTAT's order allowing ST exemption on 70% of contract value on which VAT

Service Tax : Where Tribunal held that since assessee had paid VAT on 70% of contract value, service tax could not be collected on same value in view of principles of fiscal federalism adopted in Constitution, Supreme Court admitted appeals thereagainst

Amendment to SARFAESI Act taking away RBI’s powers to fix NPA norms for financial institutions is un

SARFAESI : RBI to be restored as regulator for banking, non-banking institutions and securitisation agencies for deciding period after which loans could be treated as NPA; 2004 amendment to Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 declared unconstitutional and contrary to object of Act

A Co. having high turnover and brand value excludible from list of comparables for TP study

IT/ILT : A comparable company should have comparable brand value, comparable turnover and comparable business activities; there should be no extraordinary events in relevant year

Tribunal could extend stay beyond 365 days if each stay was upto 180 days and its order was a reason

Excise & Customs : Tribunal may extend stay beyond 365 days but each time stay must be granted for up to 180 days and extension may be granted only by way of reasoned order and only if delay in disposal of appeal is not due to assessee

Sec. 12AA doesn’t require audit clause in trust’s deed; CIT directed to examine genuineness of trust

IT : Where Administrative Commissioner rejected assessee's application for registration under section 12AA without examining genuineness of activity of trust, matter was to be readjudicated

Construction of river reservoir for industrial use amounted to commercial or industrial construction

Service Tax : Construction of river reservoir meant for industrial use and raising heights thereof does not amount to 'Site Formation and Clearance, Excavation and Earthmoving and Demolition Services'; it is Commercial or Industrial Construction Services

No sec. 69B addition in hands of assessee when he was dealing in land as broker on behalf of investo

IT: Where assessee-broker was initially purchasing land in name of his associate and then transferring same to investor, no addition could be made on account of undisclosed investment

Assessee had to pay interest alongwith differential duty even in case of retrospective increase in p

Excise & Customs : Interest is leviable on delayed and deferred payment of duty for whatever reasons; payment of differential duty comes under section 11A(2B) and attracts levy of interest under section 11AA (erstwhile section 11AB) of Act

Tax liability of chicory roots would be covered by Notification No. 306 issued under U.P. Trade Tax

CST & VAT : Notification No. 306, dated 29-1-2001 issued under provisions of U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 would cover tax liability in respect to chicory roots

Director immune from disqualification if annual docs filed after 31-3-2014 but prior to launch of Se

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 92 of The Companies Act, 2013 – Annual Return – Company Law Settlement Scheme, 2014 – Clarification as to Applicability of Section 164(2)

MCA extends validity of Company Law Settlement Scheme upto November 15, 2014

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013 – Annual Return – Company Law Settlement Scheme, 2014 – Extension of Date Under

CIT to consider only object of trust and not application of income while granting sec. 80G registrat

IT : At time of granting approval of exemption under section 80G, only object of trust is required to be examined and, therefore, assessee's application seeking approval under section 80G(5) could not be rejected on ground that it failed to incur expenditure to extent of 85 per cent of its income during relevant year

No sec. 194C TDS if transportation charges received from parties were paid by AOP to its members for

IT : Where assessee-AOP paid transportation charges received from different parties to its members whose trucks were taken on hire for rendering transportation services, assessee was not liable to TDS

Petitioners entitled to bonus shares as they had legal title over them and there was no prohibitory

CL: Where title to original shares was in favour of petitioners and there was no prohibition of any Court, petitioners were entitled to get accrued benefit in form of bonus shares

Department can either approach Tribunal for vacating stay or seek disposal of appeal on expiry of di

Excise & Customs : On expiry of maximum time-limit specified in section 35C(2A), proper remedy for department is to move Tribunal either for vacating stay or for disposal of appeal

No tax on receipt of development fee by charitable school if it was incurred for welfare of students

IT : Where society, running school, had received development fund as part of students fee which was utilised in amenities and welfare of students, same was to be regarded as capital receipt not chargeable to tax

Tribunal can extend stay by 180 days if delay in disposal of appeal isn’t attributable to assessee

Excise & Customs : Tribunal may extend stay only by 180 days at a time and such extension may be granted only if delay in disposing of appeal is not attributable to assessee and said extension may be granted even beyond 365 days (total)

HC disallowed interest as borrowed funds were diverted to sister concern without any commercial expe

IT: Where assessee after taking loan from bank gave interest-free advances to its sister concern which had gone into huge loss and there was no commercial expediency in advancing such loan, interest attributable to such loan was to be disallowed

No sec. 69 addition merely due to difference found in reconciliation statements of suppliers and ass

IT : Mere on difference in reconciliation of accounts of suppliers and assessee, it could not be presumed that assessee had made purchases outside books of account

Dismantling of plant and installation of doors doesn't amount to input services

Cenvat Credit : Dismantling of plant, Installation charges of doors and laying of roads cannot amount to input service, especially when assessee failed to show link thereof with manufacturing activity

Cos involved in banking, finance services aren't comparable with a Co. providing investment advisory

IT/ILT : Where TPO made adjustment to assessee's ALP in respect of rendering investment advisory services to AE on basis of average mean margin of his own set of comparables, in view of fact that some of those comparables were engaged in business of merchant banking, corporate finance etc. and, thus, there being functional difference, impugned adjustment was to be set aside

Conduct of respondent was oppressive as it used petitioner's funds in its own Cos without informing

CL: Where money invested by petitioner in R-1 company was utilized in other companies managed by person managing R-1 company but no information about investment was provided to petitioners, such conduct would be held to be oppressive

Co. to give only disclosures relevant for Consolidated Statement without repeating disclosures of se

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/AAA : Section 129 of The Companies Act, 2013 - Financial Statement - Clarification on Matters Relating to Consolidated Financial Statement

Supreme Court admits appeal against Delhi High Court's verdict striking down Service Tax valuation R

Service Tax : Where Delhi High Court had held that rule 5(1) of Service Tax Valuation Rules providing for inclusion of value of expenditure or costs incurred by service provider was ultra vires and liable to be struck down, Supreme Court admitted appeal thereagainst

Govt. notifies revised 'Kisan Vikas Patra Rules'

IT : Kisan Vikas Patra Rules, 2014

Merely change in management of assessee wasn’t a valid ground to condone delay in filing refund clai

IT : Where accounts of assessee were audited well in time and assessee could have filed return of income within time stipulated under section 139(1), change of management could not be sufficient ground to condone delay in filing return and refund claim

Bank had preferential rights to recover its dues under SARFAESI Act over dues of Excise Department

Excise & Customs : Rights of a bank to recover its dues under SARFAESI Act have first preferential charge over that of central excise/customs/service tax dues

Govt. realigns jurisdictional areas of DRTs in Kolkata, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu

DRT : Section 3 of The Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 - Establishment of Tribunal - Notified Tribunal S - Amendment in Notification No. GSR 15(E), Dated 9-1-2007

Govt. mandates auditors to report on adequacy of 'internal financial control system' wef financial y

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2014 – Insertion of Rule 10A

No penalty on disclosure of income after search proceedings as time-limit for filing belated return

IT : Where after search in case of husband, assessee-wife filed return in response to notice under section 153C and income declared was accepted in assessment, in view of fact that sufficient time was still available for filing return, under section 139(4), assessee could not be held guilty of concealment liable to penalty

Delay in filing writ petition due to time spent in pursuing remedies not provided by law wasn’t cond

Excise & Customs : For condonation on ground of time spent in pursuing other remedies, assessee must show that he has been seeking relief elsewhere in a manner provided by law; if he runs after a remedy not provided in statute, it is not desirable to condone delay

Kerala Govt. hikes tax rates under VAT Act and General Sales Tax Act; amends Kerala Finance Act, 200

CST/VAT/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Kerala Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014 – Amendment in Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 etc.

Govt. mandates auditors to report on adequacy of 'internal financial control system' wef April 1, 20

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2014 – Insertion of Rule 10A

Govt. tweaks Rule specifying manner of consolidation of financial statements

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/INDIAN ACTS & RULES : Companies (Accounts) Amendment Rules, 2014 – Amendment in Rule 6

Board of directors of Sec. 8 Cos can decide on refund/forfeiture of deposit made for directorship of

COMPANIES ACT, 2013 : Section 160, Read with Section 8 of The Companies Act, 2013 – Directors – Right of Persons Other than Retiring Directors to Stand for Directorship- Refund of Deposit in Case of Section 8 Companies

Services provided by Indian banks to Money Transfer Operators located abroad are liable to ST: CBEC

ST LAWS : Levy of Service Tax on Activities Involved in Relation to Inward Remittances from Abroad to Beneficiaries in India Through MTSOs – Supersession of Circular No.163/14/2012-ST, DATED 10-7-2012

HC denies to admit writ as assessee had already availed of alternative remedy of filing appeal befor

IT : Where assessee had already invoked an efficacious alternative remedy by filing an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals) against re-assessment order passed, there was no reason to entertain writ petition filed by assessee against notice issued under section 148

Bar on transfer of decree doesn't avert examination of an officer residing outside jurisdiction of e

CL: Section 39(4) of CPC does not bar examination of an officer of judgment debtor-company residing outside territorial jurisdiction of execution court

Trustee of Real Estate Investment Trust or Infrastructure Investment Trust can become partner in LLP

COMPANIES ACT, 2013/LLP : Section 5 of The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 – Partners - Clarification with Regard to Trust/Trustee as A Partner in Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)

HC condoned revenue's delay in filing appeal considering its heavy workload and involvement of huge

CST & VAT: Where assessee filed appeal before High Court late by 342 days alongwith application seeking condonation of delay, as tax effect was more than Rs. 21 crores, delay was condoned

No completion certificate is required to claim sec. 80-IB relief for housing projects located in Kar

IT : Where housing project of assessee builder was approved by local authority prior to 1-4-2005, benefit under section 80-IB could not be denied on ground that assessee did not comply with provisions of section 80-IB(10)

Transfer of shares under a family arrangement to equalize the wealth of family members won’t be deem

IT : An equalization of wealth has only monetary connotation; transfer of shares/assignment of right by members to a family company in terms of family arrangement for equalization of wealth among members in family company cannot be said to be voluntary and, hence, cannot be held to be gift; income therefrom to be considered in computing book profit

AO could rely upon material available with him in VAT assessment if assessee didn't appear after ser

CST & VAT : If an assessee after service of notice for assessment did not appear before Assessing Officer, then Assessing Officer could rely upon material which he had with him and was not required to send another notice to assessee

Any reduction made from export turnover had to be reduced from total turnover as well to compute sec

IT : While computing deduction under section 10B whatever is to be reduced from export turnover has to be reduced from total turnover as well

HC upholds Tribunal’s order directing partial pre-deposit by encashment of bank guarantee

Excise & Customs : Where assessee was found, prima facie, to have violated provisions of Foreign Trade Policy (Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme), pre-deposit ordered by Tribunal by way of encashment of bank guarantee was valid

AO couldn’t deny stay of demand on non-compliance of certain conditions without considering merits o

IT : Where assessee filed an application seeking stay of demand during course of appellate proceedings which was dismissed by Assessing Officer on ground that assessee had not fulfilled conditions stipulated in instructions of C.B.D.T., without observing as to under what circumstances, assessee had not made out a prima facie case, impugned order so passed deserved to be set aside

No denial of sec. 10(23EA) relief to NSE investor protection fund even if it had already claimed sec

IT : Where NSE Investor Protection Fund Trust claimed exemption under section 11 stating that none of beneficiaries were trading member of NSE which revenue did not accept, matter was to be decided afresh

India: Ports Traffic Increase By 4 %

Barring Kolkata Port and New Mangalore Port, all the 10 major ports posted a marginal increase in cargo traffic for the first six months of the current financial year.

All these ports put together handled 288.48 million tonnes of cargo against 276.86 million tonnes for the corresponding period last year, marking an increase of 4.2 per cent, according to a data released by the Indian Ports Association.

Mormugao led the pack by posting 22.25 per cent growth, followed by Kamarajar Port (15.56 per cent) and V.O. Chidambaranar Port (11.52 per cent).

Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex posted a negative growth of 0.86 per cent.

Total tonnage

Mumbai Port was pushed to fourth slot, Jawaharlal Nehru Port to sixth and Chennai Port Trust to the ninth. Tonnage-wise, Kandla occupied the first slot, followed by Paradip, JNPT, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Chennai.

The country as a whole posted negative growth in iron ore volumes at 22.80 per cent and marginal loss in petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL).

Mormugao Port and Chennai Port posted impressive growth by handling iron ore, while Mumbai, Paradip, Kandla, New Mangalore and Kamarajar ports handled large volumes of coal.

Container volume

During April-September 2014, all ports, barring Kamarajar and Kandla, handled 40.6 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers against 37.63 million tonnes, representing 6.46 per cent. JNPT led the show followed by Chennai Port and V.O. Chidambaranar Port. Visakhapatnam registered a decline in container.

Source:- marinelink.com

India's September Natural Rubber Imports, Output Drop Y/Y- Rubber Board

India's natural rubber imports in September dropped 12.6 percent from a year earlier to 41,848 tonnes, while production plunged by a quarter to 60,000 tonnes due to higher rains in key producing regions, the state-run Rubber Board said on Tuesday.

The country's natural rubber consumption in the month stood at 85,500 tonnes, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, as demand from the auto industry rose.

India imports natural rubber from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Source:- http://in.reuters.com

India May Impose Safeguard Tax To Check Chinese Imports

India today said it could consider imposing "some kind of safeguard duties' on Chinese imports to bridge the huge trade gap as it cannot be sustained in the long run.



"This trade deficit (between India and China) is not sustainable in the long run and therefore it is very important to understand for Chinese companies that in the coming years, India will have to put some kind of safeguards whether it is in terms of standards...



"India will do this because (India) can not sustain this (trade deficit) for over a long period," said Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant.



India's trade deficit with China stands at about $36 billion with exports totalling only $15 billion against $51 billion imports.



Speaking at the function of industry body PHDCCI Kant said that it was time that Chinese companies should increase invest in India and set up manufacturing bases.



"Chinese companies should actually manufacture the same goods (which they export to India) in India. We welcome Chinese companies. You please invest and manufacture in India. We will welcome telecom equipment, power equipment but kindly manufacture in India.



"Our government wants Chinese companies to make in India and use India as an export base for other places," he added.



The Secretary said that China is facing problems in export solar equipment to the US as America have imposed anti-dumping duty.



"...please use India as a base for exports...you will face anti-dumping duty on every good in future so the only solution for Chinese companies is to produce in India and export to America," Kant said.



He asked Chinese companies to find domestic partners and export to regions such as Africa and Latin America.



"India is a very attractive FDI destination," he said, adding: "we expect that this year, we will get about $50 billion FDI".



He said although China is setting up two industrial parks - Maharashtra and Gujarat - but there is need to increase investment.



"Between April 2000 and July 2014, China have invested only $411 million. This is only 0.18 per cent of India's total FDI which it has received so far. The Chinese figure is very low. Lower than Botswana and Rwanda. FDI from China in India is insignificant and extremely poor. This is shocking," he added.



Assuring full support and hand holding to Chinese companies, the secretary said the Chinese companies should look at sectors such as automobile, power, telecom, infrastructure and development of smart cities and industrial corridors".



"China and India -- the two elephants -- when they dance together, the whole world will shake. America will shake, Europe will shake. And if you dance alone, then the world will not shake. Join hands with India to ensure that Chinese companies entered the world in partnership with India," Kant said.



He said India's average foreign direct investment in the last three years was about USD 39 billion and the country is now focusing on manufacturing growth and infrastructure development.

Chinese companies should grab this opportunity and invest heavily in India, he said.



"While we are seeing huge growth of FDI from all over the world... but as per our data FDI from China is extremely poor. China ranks 28th in terms of FDI equity into India," he said.



The DIPP secretary said China has started with Gujarat and Maharashtra and now "China should get into every state of India. That is the challenge for Chinese companies here".He said that the neighbouring countries should quickly set up the two industrial parks.

Source:-articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Loses Wto Case Against Us On Poultry Imports

In a big setback, India on Tuesday lost a case in the WTO against the US on restrictions it had imposed on poultry imports from America.Giving its ruling on a case filed by the US, the World Trade Organization's dispute panel said that restrictions imposed by India on imports of poultry from America were "inconsistent" with the international norms.

In March 2012, the US had dragged India to the WTO against India's ban on imports of certain American farm products, including poultry meat and eggs.

India had banned imports of various agricultural products from the US in 2007, as a precautionary measure to prevent outbreaks of avian influenza in the country.

"India's Avian Influenza (AI) measures are inconsistent with (several articles)....of the SPS (sanitary and phyto-sanitary) Agreement because they are not based on the relevant international standard," the ruling said.

India's measures, it added, are "arbitrarily and unjustifiably discriminate between Members where identical or similar conditions prevail and are applied in a manner which constitutes a disguised restriction on international trade."

It also said that the measures are "significantly more trade-restrictive" than required to achieve India's appropriate level of protection with respect to the products and "therefore are also applied beyond the extent necessary to protect human and animal life or health".

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Cbec Says Excise Audits Will Continue

The Centre on Tuesday decided to garner revenue by indirectly levying service tax on NRI remittances, a move that will eat into the earnings of lakhs of NRIs who regularly send money back home.

In a circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the government said banks and financial institutions which levy a fee or commission for facilitating the transfer of money from abroad will have to pay service tax.

The circular effectively revises the government decision of 2012 to not levy service tax on NRI remittances.

The circular issued late on Tuesday night by Dr Abhishek Chandra Gupta, technical officer of CBEC, said that banks and financial institutions fall under the

category of intermediary as defined in rule 2 (F) of the Place of Provision of Service Rules 2012.

Sachin Menon, chief operating officer, tax and regulatory services, KPMG, said the circular was "completely unfair" to NRIs who send remittances to the country.

"No service provider pays service tax from his pocket," Menon said.

Menon said the move was akin to "picking the pockets of labourers and maidservants" who work abroad.

"Assuming that Rs10 is the additional cost [transaction fee charged by money transfer agent] of every Rs 100 that an NRI sends, now only Rs 98.76 will be received for every Rs100 sent [after reducing 12.36% service tax on Rs10]," Menon said.

Critics also said the move might result in a rise in anti-national activities, with money remitted through hawala as an alternative.

Emerging as the top recipient of money from abroad among developing nations, the country received remittances of $64 billion in 2011, according to World Bank data.

Chief ministers of Punjab and Kerala, states that get the largest remittances, had taken up the matter with prime minister Manmohan Singh when the tax was previously mooted, and the circular was withdrawn in 2012.

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Indian Rupee Marks Lowest Close In Over 1 Week; Dollar Rebounds

The Indian rupee slumped on Tuesday, retreating from a nearly three-week high hit earlier in the day as growing worries about global economic growth sparked a recovery in the dollar, offsetting data showing sharply easing domestic inflation.

The dollar recovered its footing in Europe on Tuesday after sinking to its lowest in a month against the yen amid deepening worries over global growth and an equities sell-off that is gathering pace.

The advance in the greenback erased earlier gains in the rupee after data late on Monday showed India's consumer inflation in September slowed to its lowest on record. Data on Tuesday showed wholesale inflation slid to the lowest in nearly five years in September.

"The rupee may remain range bound from here, but the next big move will again be defined by how the dollar moves globally," said Anil Bhansali, vice president at Mecklai Financial.

The partially convertible rupee closed at 61.41/42 per dollar compared with 61.0950/1050 on Monday, its weakest close since Oct. 1.

That marked a sharp swing after the rupee had risen to as much as 60.90 earlier in the day, its highest level since Sept. 23.

The rupee ceded ground in the late session as the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up close to 0.2 percent for most of the session.

The greenback was also helped by pent-up demand as U.S. markets were closed on Monday and by the mid-month requirement of Indian defence companies, traders said.

Source:- brecorder.com

Supreme Court admits against Delhi High Court's verdict striking down Service Tax valuation Rule 5(1

Service Tax : Where Delhi High Court had held that rule 5(1) of Service Tax Valuation Rules providing for inclusion of value of expenditure or costs incurred by service provider was ultra vires and liable to be struck down, Supreme Court admitted appeal thereagainst

CLB norms don’t allow co-respondent to file counter reply against respondent, rules HC

CL: In a petition before CLB, a co-respondent cannot file a rejoinder/counter reply to a reply filed by one or more respondent

Sum received for laying and installation of pipelines couldn't be treated as 'FTS'; taxable under se

IT/ILT : Where assessee providing technical and engineer service, was given a turnkey project for laying and installation of pipelines, provisions of section 44BB would clearly apply

Sum paid to resident to advertise TV channels in India won't attract TP provisions even if it benefi

IT/ILT : Payments made by resident agent to residents by way of ad spends are not international transactions u/s 92

Sec. 158BD block assessment could be made against the Co. even if seized material related to its dir

IT : Where in course of search proceedings in case of 'M' group, certain incriminating material relating to assessee-company was seized, initiation of block assessment proceedings under section 158BD against assessee could not be challenged by raising a plea that material seized related to director of assessee-company only and not to company itself

Construction services provided to Haryana Seed Development Corporation are liable to service tax

Service Tax : Construction services provided to Haryana Seed Development Corporation or HAFED, which are prima facie commercial concerns, are liable to service tax

No TDS on sums paid to transporters if assessee had collected their correct PAN

IT : Where in respect of payments made to transporters, assessee rectified PAN of those transport operators who had given wrong PAN originally, Assessing Officer could not deny benefit of section 194C(6) in respect of said payments

100% EOU can't claim rebate on export of goods as such goods are already exempted from duty

Excise & Customs : In case of goods exported by 100 per cent EOU, said goods are absolutely and unconditionally exempted from excise duty and, therefore, as per section 5A(1A), EOU cannot pay duty thereon so as to claim rebate

No tax on advance received by NHPC against depreciation as it was part of tariff and it would reduce

IT : Where assessee, a public sector company, engaged in selling electricity to State Electricity Boards, received Advance Against Depreciation (AAD) by way of tariff charges which was to be adjusted against future depreciation so as to reduce tariff in future years, amount so received was to be regarded as liability and, thus, not includible in computation of taxable income

ITAT interprets Formula prescribed under Rule 8D for allocating common interest exp.

IT : Interest expenses directly attributable to tax exempt income as also directly attributable to taxable income, are required to be excluded from computation of common interest expenses to be allocated under rule 8D(2)(ii) of Income-tax Rules, 1962

ITAT had to consider legal effect of amalgamation and winding-up order while deciding penalty procee

IT: Effect of order of amalgamation and winding up of assessee on penalty proceedings being a legal issue to be answered by Tribunal which had admitted that question and additional evidence in that regard; remand to Assessing Officer was unjustified

Commissioner can pass revisional order if order of first appellate authority is erroneous/prejudicia

CST & VAT: Where Additional Commissioner initiated revisional proceedings against assessee and set aside order passed by first revisional authority, before setting aside impugned order, he must record a finding that said order was not only erroneous, but also prejudicial to interest of revenue

Sec. 80-IB relief allowed to assessee as it was treated as manufacturer under Excise Laws

IT : Where assessee was engaged in manufacturing LED based aviation signalling, warning, traffic lights, push buttons, selector switch, lamp holders, LED modules/lamps/indicators, in view of fact that Central Excise Department recognised assessee as manufacturer and callected excise duty from it, assessee's claim for deduction under section 80-IB was to be allowed

Department couldn’t reassess amount of refund allowed by appellate authority without challenging its

Excise & Customs : Where refund has been allowed by appellate authority, then, without challenging such appellate order in further appeal/revision, department cannot reassess or re-quantify amount of refund

Revenue couldn't plead that assessee was agent of NR without challenging non-taxability of NR in Ind

IT/ILT : Where revenue did not prefer appeal against order of Tribunal holding that amount received by non-resident from assessee was not taxable in India, question as to whether assessee could be treated as agent of said non-resident or not became academic

PVC pipe used in pumping sets wasn't exempt from commercial tax as it was an essential part of pumpi

CST & VAT : PVC Pipes used in pumping sets are not eligible for exemption from commercial tax

SEBI releases master circular for Mutual Funds

SEBI : Master Circular for Mutual Funds

SEBI has barred DLF and its directors from accessing securities market for 3 years

CL : DLF, its chairman and directors employed a plan, scheme, design and device to camouflage association of DLF with its three subsidiaries namely, Felicite, Shalika and Sudipti to mislead and defraud the investors in securities market in connection with issue of shares of DLF in its IPO. DLF and its directors were restrained from accessing securities market and were prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities, directly or indirectly, in any manner, whatsoever, for the pe

Even prior to 1-4-2002, no turnover tax was leviable on work contract of constructing multi-storeye

CST & VAT: Where assessee was engaged in works contract and in respect of assessment years 2000-01 to 2002-03 Assessing Authority levied turnover tax upon it, in view of proviso to section 6B(1), it was entitled to exemption from payment of tax

SC rejected compliant on dishonor of cheque for discharging loan as complainant wasn’t in position t

Negotiable Instruments Act: Where complainant was working under accused and was not in a position to extend loan to accused, complaint filed by him for dishonour of cheque issued by accused in discharge of loan liability was to be dismissed

ITAT directs TPO to re-examine as to whether operations carried by NR outside India was related to i

IT/ILT : Where in case of assessee, an Australian company, engaged in installation of infrastructure in form of platform and pipelines for ONGC, TPO made certain addition taking a view that certain services such as fabrication and designing were performed outside India but revenue earned from those operations were attributable to assessee's PE in India, in view of objection raised by assessee to proposed addition, matter was to be remanded back to TPO for disposal afresh after taking into consid

SEBI issues guidelines for implementing revised norms for single registration of Stock Brokers

SEBI : Single registration for Stock Brokers & Clearing Members.

Interest credited by SBI to deposits made under ‘Site Restoration Account’ won’t attract sec. 194A T

IT : Where a deposit is not in nature of time deposit, then it is not amenable to provisions of section 194A

Department can’t recalculate interest/collection charges in respect of period prior to passing of re

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Officer passed a rectified order on 14-3-2013 and raised demand upon assessee and later he issued on assessee a notice demanding more amount as interest and collection charges, Assessing Officer was directed that he would not calculate interest prior to 14-3-2013 and no collection charges could be recovered

No TDS liability under sec. 194H if exp. incurred for rendering free services were wrongly recorded

IT : Where payment of rent did not exceed limit of Rs. 1,20,000 specified under section 194-I, assessee was not liable to deduct TDS

HC deletes penalty as AO didn’t record his satisfaction regarding levy of penalty on non-compliance

IT : Where Assessing Officer had failed to record its satisfaction in assessment order that assessee had not obtained audit report well on time and further, there was no whisper in said assessment order regarding levy of penalty, no penalty would be leviable

Transaction value of identical goods can be applied for valuation purpose only if its imports are fo

Excise & Customs : Before assessment of value of goods based on transaction value of identical goods, it must be evidenced that imports of identical goods are comparable imports and assessee must be given reasonable opportunity to counter same

HC extended limitation period for investment under sec. 54EC as specified bonds weren’t available in

IT: Assessee's right to make investment within six months cannot be curtailed only for reason of non-availability of specified bonds in market for a period at time of expiry of stipulated six months

HC directed ROC to restore name of petitioner-co. as there was no allegation of offence against it

CL : Where there were no allegations against petitioner company with regard to misdemeanor on its part, petitioner's application for restoration of its name in register of company was to be allowed

Bar of Res Judicata won’t be applicable unless issue raised by assessee has been decided by lower Co

Excise & Customs : Unless an issue has been heard and finally decided, there can be no res judicata; hence, bar of Res Judicata shall not apply to case where lower court did not decide issue raised by assessee and assessee would be free to raise such issue

Investment in new residential house within a year prior to sale of capital asset would provide sec.

IT: Investment made for purchase of new residential house within a year even prior to sale of capital asset raising LTCG would be entitled to section 54F exemption

Department couldn’t reverse input tax credit allowed by it earlier without providing for hearing cha

CST & VAT : Where Assessing Authority had reversed entire claim of input tax credit under section 19(16) without giving opportunity of hearing to assessee, matter was remitted for fresh adjudication after giving opportunity of hearing

Whole premium paid on Keyman Insurance policy was deductible even if policy cover extended to next y

IT-I : Where assessee earned certain income from sale of shares, in view of fact that assessee utilised its own funds to purchase shares and, moreover, it carried out only a few transactions in said shares during relevant year, income in question was liable to be taxed as capital gain

No sec. 69A addition in hands of buyer for cash received from builder if it was already taxed in han

IT : Where cash payment in sale of land was denied by both parties and said cash amount had already been taxed in hands of builder, addition of same in hands of assessee was not sustainable

Place of removal can't be deemed to be 'factory gate' at all time even if duty is payable at fixed r

Cenvat Credit : Even in cases where duty is payable at 'specified fixed rate', 'place of removal' cannot be presumed to be 'factory gate' always and has to be determined on facts and circumstances; and if 'place of removal' is 'premises of consumer', assessee will be entitled to take credit of transport services up to customer's premises

Respondent solely in control of co. can’t challenge share valuation due to auditor’s disclaimer in h

CL: Where respondent was solely in control of affairs of company when audited balance sheet was prepared based on which share valuation was done, respondent could not later on challenge valuation report on ground of disclaimer of opinion in balance sheet or non-consideration of debit notes

Alleged short-fall in receipt of share premium couldn’t be charged to tax; Chapter X has no charging

Alleged short-fall in receipt of share premium couldn’t be charged to tax; Chapter X has no charging provision: HC

Pakistan Exports Rs 233.95 Million Items To India In First Week Of October

Pakistan has exported items worth Rs 233.95 million to India during first week of October from 1st -7th to India via Wagha Border despite the Indian aggression on borders.

As per available documents, Pakistan exported dried fruits, salt, cement, gypsum, cotton, scrap and lime stone.As the winter is going to start, Pakistan has exported 106 metric tonnes of nuts worth Rs 20 million to India via Wahga Border.

The documents show that Pakistan exported 2505 metric tonnes of dried fruits (dates, figs and guavas) worth Rs 119 million to India during the first week of October.

Moreover, 23 metric tonnes of plants worth Rs 870,977 was exported to India from 1-7 October.

According to details, Pakistan has exported 511 metric tonnes of rock salt worth Rs 1.67 million, while 9015 metric tonnes of gypsum worth Rs 14.36 million was sold to India via Wagha Border during first week of October.

Besides that Pakistan has also exported 371 metric tonnes of lime stone worth Rs 1 million while cement worth Rs 9.49 million was exported via Wagha border.

Almost 760 metric tonnes of aluminum ores worth Rs 1.32 million were exported through Wagha border during 1-7 October.

Pakistan also exported disodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to India worth Rs 1.16 million and Rs 2.58 million respectively.

As per available documents, Pakistan exported scrap worth Rs 4.28 million, cotton (not combed) worth Rs 22.8 million and glass worth Rs 33.9 million to India during first seven days of October.As a whole, Pakistan exported items worth Rs 233.95 million with a total weight of 17,171 metric tonnes to India via Wahga border.

Source:- customstoday.com.pk