Penalty liability under Section 271(1)(c) for periods before 1 April 2016 requires application of Circular No. 25/2015 rather than automatic reliance on Explanation 4. The Circular treats the relevant explanation as prospective and makes penalty following an adjustment to computed income dependent on the nature of that adjustment. Where this framework was not considered, the penalty order and consequential demand notice were quashed, and the penalty liability was remitted for reconsideration under the Circular.

Concurrent factual findings on the attribution of impounded diaries, land-purchase material and cash transactions generally do not raise a substantial question of law in a further appeal. The statutory presumption relating to documents applies to the person from whose premises the material is found; absent independent evidence, recorded transactions cannot automatically be attributed to a firm. Additions for a partner's recorded cash credit may be limited after considering available sources and telescoping, while separate additions for unaccounted land consideration should not duplicate the same amount. Cash purchases neither recorded nor claimed as deductions cannot be disallowed as business expenditure.

Section 250(6) of the Income-tax Act requires the first appellate authority to formulate points for determination and decide each appeal by recorded reasons. This duty continues even if the appellant does not attend the hearing. An income-tax appeal cannot therefore be dismissed solely for non-appearance without adjudicating the grounds raised; such dismissal contravenes the statutory requirement for a reasoned appellate decision.

Faceless assessment procedure must provide a meaningful opportunity to respond and be heard. A show-cause notice allowing effectively only one working day, contrary to the prescribed minimum response period, coupled with a personal-hearing notice issued before the reply period expired, can breach the principles of natural justice. Refusal of a reasonable short adjournment and closure of the portal preventing upload of a reply compound that breach. Assessment proceedings should recommence from the show-cause-notice stage with prescribed reply time, prior video-conference hearing notice, disclosure of relied-upon material, and a speaking assessment order.

Faceless assessment procedure requires an effective personal hearing through video conferencing when the assessee specifically requests one. Where the requested hearing does not commence and is not rescheduled, with no subsequent hearing notice shown, finalising the assessment breaches Section 144B of the Income-tax Act and principles of natural justice. The assessment, consequential demand and penalty proceedings cannot be sustained; fresh assessment requires a further reply opportunity, an effective hearing, disclosure of material proposed for reliance, and a reasoned order.

Section 149(1)(b) permits a reassessment notice issued beyond three years only where escaped income is represented in the form of an asset and meets the prescribed monetary threshold. Treating entire contractual receipts as escaped income does not satisfy that condition when the income embedded in those receipts, as estimated for reassessment, falls below the threshold. In those circumstances, the jurisdictional conditions for issuing a Section 148 notice remain unmet, rendering the notice and consequential reassessment proceedings invalid.

TDS credit for tax deducted from salary cannot be refused solely because the deduction is absent from Form 26AS. Salary slips, employment records read with bank records, employer payroll or tax workings, and communications concerning tax deduction or deposit may support the claim. The available evidence must be evaluated to determine whether salary-related tax deduction was satisfactorily established. Where such deduction is established, the corresponding TDS credit must be granted despite non-reflection in Form 26AS.

Settlement application eligibility cannot be denied solely because the statutory notice was issued after 31 January 2021 where a live, unadjudicated notice under section 153A or section 143(2) existed when the application was filed by 30 September 2021. Section 245A(b) requires a pending assessment proceeding on the application date, while section 245C permits an application at any stage and does not require eligibility to arise by an earlier date. The CBDT eligibility condition is read down because departmental delay in issuing notices cannot defeat settlement access, and differential treatment of years from the same search lacks a reasonable classification under Article 14. Affected applications must be considered on merits by the Interim Board for Settlement.

Pendency of a statutory appeal against an assessment order supported declining discretionary writ jurisdiction. High Court disposed of the writ petition without examining the merits or the asserted jurisdictional defect, leaving those matters for the appellate process. The appellate authority was requested to determine the pending statutory appeal expeditiously, so the available appellate remedy remained the route for resolving the assessment challenge.

Effective opportunity of hearing under faceless assessment requires sufficient time to answer a show-cause notice, clear communication on any request for additional time, and consideration of material subsequently filed. Four working days for response, without communicating whether an extension request was accepted or rejected and without addressing uploaded submissions, may deny that opportunity. These requirements apply equally where assessment proceedings may lead to consequential penalty action.

Recovery of a tax demand pending a first appeal may be stayed where aggregated and apparently repetitive import information, without invoice-wise or bill-of-entry-wise details, prevents meaningful reconciliation with the assessee's complete accounting records. Such circumstances create a strong prima facie concern of breach of natural justice; a high-pitched assessment and resulting undue hardship further support protection from recovery. Administrative memoranda requiring payment of 20% of the demand do not restrict the Court's power to grant an appropriate stay, and no deposit need be imposed where the facts justify full protection. The appellate authority must decide the appeal promptly and independently on its merits.

Section 119(2)(b) permits condonation of a short, bona fide compliance delay where refusal would cause genuine hardship and defeat a statutory exemption. The audit report in Form No. 10B was required one month before the return due date for the relevant assessment year; a 30-day delay arose from a bona fide understanding, COVID-19 conditions and extended compliance timelines. The pending condonation application before CBDT did not require exhaustion before writ relief. The delay was condoned, the denial of exemption was set aside, and the return was required to be processed afresh by treating Form No. 10B as timely filed.

Alleged bogus and unexplained purchases were satisfactorily explained where the assessee produced books of account, purchase invoices, banking payment details and supporting evidence. Supplier non-response to notices and GST-registration status, being matters beyond the assessee's control, could not alone justify disallowance. As the books were not rejected and recorded sales were accepted, the corresponding purchases could not be disallowed entirely on presumption without tangible material. Deletion of the additions was justified, and no substantial question of law arose.

Section 260A does not permit interference with a Tribunal's factual assessment of disputed bullion purchases unless perversity, lack of evidence, or disregard of material evidence is shown. Purchase invoices, vendor confirmations, banking and GST records, stock registers, and undisputed corresponding sales and closing stock supported the purchase findings. Given narrow, market-driven bullion margins, treating the entire purchases as income was commercially incongruous; applying a 0.15% gross-profit rate remained a factual determination. No substantial question of law arose, and the restricted addition was sustained.

Indian PE taxation of a foreign bank remains at foreign-company rates where domestic-company conditions are unmet and Article 24(2) does not apply because domestic and foreign companies are not similarly situated. Under Article 7, PE-head-office dealings are treated separately for profit attribution, but interest remitted overseas requires TDS compliance under section 195; non-compliance triggers disallowance under section 40(a)(i). Conversely, interest received by the PE from overseas offices forms taxable PE business income. ATMs performing digital data processing, software functions, and network communication fall within the computer category for depreciation.

Condonation of a 719-day delay in filing an appeal was considered after the petitioner referred to an earlier Supreme Court order. The Court declined to take a divergent view and dismissed the Special Leave Petition. The dismissal also resulted in disposal of any pending interlocutory applications. The stated approach followed the earlier Supreme Court order identified by the petitioner.

Nata De Coco, produced through microbial fermentation of coconut water and coconut milk, falls under the residual food-preparation category rather than fruit-jelly classification. Heading 2007 covers preparations whose fruit juice, pulp, or nut content remains the basis after cooking; a jelly-like appearance alone is insufficient. Heading 2008 is also inapplicable because the product is not an identifiable plant part merely prepared or preserved. In the absence of a specific heading, Rule 1 directs classification under Heading 2106. The applicable GST rate is 18% until 21 September 2025 and 5% from 22 September 2025 under the respective rate notifications.

Post-1 April 2019 construction of non-affordable residential villas in a Residential Real Estate Project is classified as construction services under SAC 995411. Pre-completion modifications and ancillary works under the original agreement or addendum form part of that supply; separate independent works require classification by their actual nature. Entry 3(ia) applies a land-adjusted effective aggregate GST rate of 5% where consideration includes land or an undivided land share, while independent supplies follow their own classification. This regime requires tax payment through the electronic cash ledger and disallows input tax credit, including credit availed under protest; no higher-rate, credit-based option applies to new projects.

GST exemption from 10 October 2024 applies to NSQF-aligned vocational training where an accredited training body supplies services through an Awarding Body recognised by NCVET and the relevant qualification or skill has an NCVET-approved qualification package. These conditions bring the training within the revised GST exemption. Structured, formally accredited and nationally recognised vocational skill-development training delivered under that approved framework is classified under SAC 999294 as other education and training services nowhere else classified, rather than generic commercial coaching.

For centage-based project-management services, the Administrative Department commissioning and owning a project is the recipient of supply, notwithstanding funding or payment disbursement by another person; the SPV must therefore issue its tax invoice to that Department. Services comprising project-report preparation, technical sanctions, tendering, contractor management, supervision, monitoring and coordination are classified as project-management services under SAC 998339. The pure-services exemption requires a sufficient nexus with functions entrusted to Panchayats or Municipalities under Articles 243G or 243W. State and coastal highway, tourism-corridor road and similar projects lack that nexus, so centage charges are taxable at 18% GST.