Excise-duty demand requiring cash payment under Rule 8(3A) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 was unsustainable because that rule had been declared ultra vires and unconstitutional. Jurisdictional High Court and Tribunal decisions followed that position. Judicial discipline required adherence to those binding decisions, preventing enforcement of the cash-payment requirement through the demand.

Classification of mobile-phone-specific components as smartphone parts - Exemption for inputs or parts used in manufacture of mobile-phone covers - Scope of advance ruling application for specified goods Classification of mobile-phone-specific components as smartphone parts - Classification of specifically cut and treated aluminium plates, magnesium alloy sheets, heat-dissipating films, silicon pads, conductive foams, antennas, double-sided tape and dust-proof paper, imported for manufacture ... ... ...

TP Adjustment - Arm's length interest on quasi-equity funding of overseas associated enterprises - Arm's length price of corporate guarantees to associated enterprises - Cessation of trading liability upon creditor's write-off Transfer-pricing adjustment of notional interest on interest-free advances to wholly owned overseas subsidiaries - HELD THAT: - The advances enabled an overseas resort project through wholly owned subsidiaries, were structured to meet lenders' requiremen... ... ...

Cash deposits claimed as business receipts - Rule of consistency - Addition for cash deposits during the demonetisation period claimed to represent business receipts, where a similar explanation had been accepted in the preceding assessment year HELD THAT: - Though res judicata does not apply to income-tax proceedings, the rule of consistency applies. As the source of comparable deposits as business receipts had been accepted in the assessment for AY 2016-17, there was no justification for di... ... ...

Closing-stock valuation of unsold excess stock - Revenue neutrality and year of taxability Sustainability of the differential valuation addition for unsold excess stock remaining at the close of the year - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal held that the Department had not recorded a finding that the valuation method adopted by the assessee distorted the profits of the year. A lower closing-stock value would correspondingly reduce the opening-stock value and enhance profits in the succeeding year; wit... ... ...

Unsigned notice issued through e-proceedings - Digital signature requirement for reassessment notice - Validity of the reassessment notice issued through e-proceedings without the AO's digital or manual signature HELD THAT: - Departmental communications and notices issued through the e-proceedings facility were required to bear the Assessing Officer's digital signature under the applicable instruction. The unsigned reassessment notice was consequently invalid and did not confer jurisd... ... ...

Exemption of dividend income of recognised provident fund - Incorrect reporting of exempt income in return Taxability of dividend income of a recognised staff provident fund, incorrectly reported under the wrong exemption provision and subjected to tax under section 115BBDA - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal held that recognition of the provident fund established that its income was wholly exempt. The reporting of dividend income under section 10(35), instead of section 10(25), was a factual error i... ... ...

Reassessment beyond four years - failure to disclose material facts - Reassessment within four years-tangible material and change of opinion - Deductibility of payments to auto dealers by general insurers - IBNR and IBNER claim provisions - Foreign reinsurance premium-tax withholding and deductibility - Book profit adjustments-unexpired risk reserve and Section 14A disallowance - Capital gains exemption on sale of investments by general insurers - Section 14A disallowance-general insurance busin... ... ...

Limitation for final assessment after DRP directions - Electronic receipt of DRP directions through ITBA Validity of the final assessment for AY 2020-21 where the DRP directions were uploaded on the ITBA portal and the final order was passed after the prescribed period - HELD THAT: - DRP directions, once digitally signed, assigned a DIN and uploaded on the ITBA portal, were available to the faceless and jurisdictional assessing officers on that date. Receipt for the purposes of the statutory ... ... ...

Reassessment based on search-derived information - Verification of political donation deduction Reassessment based on search-derived information - Validity of reassessment initiated on information and search details concerning the political party to which the assessee had made a donation - HELD THAT: - The information and details obtained in the search concerning the political party reflected the assessee's donation, which the assessee subsequently accepted during the assessment inquiry. ... ... ...

Settlement applications before Interim Board - CBDT relaxation for settlement applications Consideration of the petitioners' settlement application filed after cessation of the Income-tax Settlement Commission and before the extended deadline prescribed by the CBDT circular - HELD THAT: - The CBDT circular authorised admission and processing, as pending applications, of settlement applications filed after 31 January 2021 and before 30 September 2021 by assessees otherwise eligible to appl... ... ...

GST Council recommends removal of arrest provisions under GST GST Council recommends raising prosecution threshold from Rs.1 crore to Rs.5 crore GST Council recommends reduction in general penalty from Rs.25,000 to Rs.10,000 GST Council recommends wider eligibility for input tax credit and refunds GST Council recommends further simplification of registration and compliance processes GST Council recommends faster refunds to improve working capital for businesses GST Council ... ... ...

Income-tax treatment of corpus receipts received by a co-operative housing society for granting development rights to a developer is considered for return reporting. The developer has deducted tax at source under section 194-IC, raising the issue of the receipts' resulting income-tax implications in the society's return.

Revisionary jurisdiction under section 263 may be sustained where profit is estimated on reduced work receipts despite TDS-backed total contract receipts, without examining subcontract arrangements and related commission income. However, subcontracted receipts cannot automatically be subjected to the same flat profit rate applied to other receipts merely because related income remains unverified. Income attributable to subcontracted work requires factual verification of the income disclosed, while revision remains confined to the inadequately examined assessment.

Compulsory registration requirements under the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2021 are extended to screen protectors for smartphones. These goods must conform to Indian Standard IS 19348:2025, titled "Glass Screen Protector - Specification." The registration requirement applies from 1 April 2027, and customs field formations must take the expanded compulsory registration coverage into account for necessary action.

Section 14A disallowance relating to exempt income is restricted to the amount of dividend income where that limitation was directed for the relevant assessment year. Omission to record and apply the earlier direction restricting the disallowance to exempt income constitutes a mistake apparent from the record. The required correction limits the disallowance to the exempt-income amount.

Free Trade Agreements are positioned to preserve sensitive domestic interests, particularly agriculture, fisheries and MSMEs, while widening market access for agricultural, marine, engineering, precision and electronic products and facilitating foreign investment. Proposed FTA utilisation desks across State Councils would assist MSMEs in using preferential arrangements, understanding rules of origin and market-access opportunities, participating in delegations and exhibitions, and presenting products and technologies to overseas markets.

Assessment order and consequential notices were quashed. The objection to reopening of assessment under Section 147 was remanded for reconsideration, with an opportunity for further submissions, clarification of figures stated in the reopening reasons, and a personal hearing under prescribed rules. The merits remained open. Until disposal of the reopening objection, the jurisdictional Assessing Officer retains the matter; subsequent assessment proceeds under the Faceless Scheme.

Section 80P(4) excludes specified co-operative banks from the deduction but does not remove a co-operative credit society's eligibility under Section 80P(2)(a)(i) or Section 80P(2)(d). Interest earned by such a society on deposits with a co-operative bank remains deductible where that bank is a registered co-operative society within Section 2(19). Allowing this deduction does not make the assessment erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue; consequently, revision under Section 263 on that basis is unsustainable.

Omission to adjudicate a ground challenging revisionary action prompted rectification proceedings concerning the effect of an NPA provision disallowance on Chapter VI-A deductions. The unresolved issue was whether profits increased by disallowance of the NPA provision remained eligible for the relevant deduction. The earlier order was recalled only for adjudication of that omitted ground, without reopening the determination concerning deduction claimed on interest from cooperative-bank deposits.