Burden of proof in reassessment: Revenue must produce new material showing reason to believe income escaped.
Once the basic or primary facts have been disclosed, the onus lies on the Revenue to prove that amounts represent undisclosed income; a mere change of opinion does not justify reopening-there must be new material constituting a reason to believe that income escaped assessment.

Duty to maintain accounts: department need not issue third-party summons at an assessee's request to obtain another's books.
The court underscored that the duty to maintain proper accounts lies with the assessee and, absent confirmations or production of the third party books, the Department is not obliged to issue summons to third parties at the assessee's request; granting such requests without foundation risks harassment and does not warrant exercise of extraordinary writ powers to compel third party production, separate from any inquiry into affiliation bye law compliance.

Non-recovery of tax from clients is not a defense; service tax penalties apply despite late payment or collection.
Non-recovery of service tax from clients and ignorance of law are not valid excuses for non-payment; registration imposes quarterly payment and filing obligations, and late payment or late returns-even if tax with interest is later deposited-do not constitute reasonable cause to avoid penal liability under the service tax penalty framework. Lack of intent or administrative confusion post-registration does not bar imposition of penalties, and revisional assessment of penalty is supportable on that basis.

Stamp paper validity: no statutory expiry; improperly stamped documents may be admitted after duty and penalty payment.
Stamp papers have no statutory expiry for use; the six month period in the refund provision limits only the right to surrender for refund and does not restrict use. Differently dated or separately purchased stamp sheets do not automatically invalidate an instrument and may be remedied by payment of duty and penalty. Finger/thumb impression comparisons require methodical analysis of characteristic features; unclear impressions or denial of execution necessitate caution and, ordinarily, expert assistance. The burden to prove execution and genuineness of a propounded document rests on the proponent.

Judicial appointments confirm elevation and fixed additional-judge tenures commencing upon assumption of office.
Two Chief Justices of State High Courts were appointed as Supreme Court Judges under clause (2) of article 124 in a specified order of seniority, with appointment effective on assumption of charge. Separately, five individuals were appointed as Additional Judges of the Delhi High Court under clause (1) of article 224 for a two-year tenure and in a prescribed seniority order, effective from the dates they assume charge.

Draft rules under Information Technology Amendment open for public comment, inviting submissions from intermediaries and stakeholders.
Draft rules under the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 have been published on the Department of Information Technology website and are open for stakeholder comments. The invitation covers any person or entity, including intermediaries and service providers, with submissions accepted by designated e mail, by post to the Head of the Cyber Law Division, or via the website mailbox, and a latest date for receipt of comments is specified.

Accrual accounting transition: government plans national rollout after pilot studies, adopting harmonised public sector reporting standards.
Migration to accrual accounting for central and state government financial reporting is proposed through phased pilot implementations leading to national rollout. Reporting will use a common set of financial statements-Balance Sheet, Statement of Financial Performance and Cash Flow Statement-prepared under Indian Government Financial Reporting Standards harmonised with International Public Sector Accounting Standards to improve presentation of government financial position and performance.

Service tax on lottery promotion: inapplicable where lottery tickets are actionable claims not goods, restricting retrospective taxation.
The levy on promotion or marketing of lotteries was challenged; lottery tickets were held to be actionable claims and not goods, so promotion by agents is not service taxable as business auxiliary service. An explanatory amendment treating organization and promotion of lotteries as taxable introduced a new charging concept and cannot be given retrospective effect; it raises constitutional implications about allocation of taxing powers and expansion of the taxable net.

Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax processes via ACES expands eFiling and enables electronic payment of duty liabilities.
Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax administration has been implemented through the ACES application, rolled out across multiple commissionerates. Updated eFiling utilities for all Central Excise and Service Tax returns have been released and are available for download, and taxpayers can remit duty liabilities via an e-Payment option on the ACES homepage.

International tax reform shifts incentives from offshore job creation to domestic R&D and enhanced disclosure obligations.
International tax reforms reallocate incentives from overseas job creation to domestic investment by discontinuing deductions and preferential treatment for companies creating jobs abroad, while introducing incentives for domestic research and development and hiring. The measures target profit shifting and low tax treatment of foreign profits, and impose enhanced reporting and disclosure obligations on income generated by US persons in foreign accounts to combat cross border tax evasion and close related loopholes.

Industrial licence requirement narrowed: only public-sector reserved, strategic sectors, reserved small-scale items and locational breaches need permits.
The industrial license requirement is now confined to industries reserved for the public sector, a defined group of strategic or socially/environmentally sensitive industries (including alcohol distillation, tobacco products, electronics/aerospace/defence equipment, explosives and hazardous chemicals), and cases where non-small scale or foreign equity units produce items reserved for the small-scale sector; most other manufacturing is exempt unless locational restrictions in metropolitan areas are breached.

Trade growth: cumulative exports rose while imports grew faster, widening the trade deficit for April-March.
Cumulative merchandise exports for April-March 2008-09 rose by 3.4% in dollar terms while cumulative imports grew by 14.3%, producing an increased trade deficit; March month on month figures show substantial year on year declines for both exports and imports. Oil imports fell sharply in March but cumulative oil imports rose year on year; non oil imports fell in March whereas cumulative non oil imports increased. Provisional tables present values in US dollars and rupees, with 2008-09 provisional and 2007-08 revised.

Repair versus manufacture: cenvat credit must be reversed when reconditioning does not amount to manufacture, limiting penalties.
Modifications consisting of dismantling and reconditioning of returned motors did not amount to manufacture; therefore, cenvat credit taken on inputs used in repair/reconditioning must be reversed equal to the credit taken, creating differential duty liability when subsequent clearances attract lower duty, and refund claims for countervailing duty credit on similarly modified re-imported goods were not sustained while penalties were deemed unwarranted.