TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 873
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...., however, the same was made known to the Assessee only on 24/07/2025. The Ld. Senior Counsel further submitted that the order impugned has not been served on the Assessee on its registered mail id and produced several documents to prove that the Assessee was under the bona-fide belief that the Appeal was still pending before the Ld. CIT(A). 3. Per contra, the Ld. Departmental Representative vehemently objected for condoning the delay. 4. We have heard both the parties and perused the material available on record. As could be seen from the documents produced by the Assessee, the Assessee was under the bona-fide belief that the first Appeal was still pending before the Ld. CIT(A). Further it is the claim of the Assessee that the order impugned was not served on the Assessee through registered mail-id. Considering the above facts and circumstances and also for the reasons stated in the application for condonation of delay, the delay in filing the present Appeal is condoned. 5. The Ld. Senior Counsel further submitted that the solitary issue involved in the present Appeal is regarding the applicability of Section 194H of the Act on the amount of discount offered on sale of pr....
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.... "The difference between the relations of master and servant and of principal and agent may be said to be this: a principal has the right to direct what work the agent has to do: but a master has the further right to direct how the work is to be done." xx xx xx "An agent is to be distinguished on the one hand from a servant, and on the other from an independent contractor. A servant acts under the direct control and supervision of his master, and is bound to conform to all reasonable orders given him in the course of his work; an independent contractor, on the other hand, is entirely independent of any control or interference and merely undertakes to produce a specified result, employing his own means to produce that result. An agent, though bound to exercise his authority in accordance with all lawful instructions which may be given to him from time to time by his principal, is not subject in its exercise to the direct control or supervision of the principal. An agent, as such is not a servant, but a servant is generally for some purposes his master's implied agent, the extent of the agency depending upon the duties or position of the servant." ....
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....the assessee can rely on the doctrine of presumption against doubtful penalisation. (See Securities and Exchange Board of India v. Sunil Krishna Khaitan and Others, (2023) 2 SCC 643. However, in the present case doctrine of presumption against doubtful penalisation is not applicable. The assessees were earlier deducting tax at source under Section 194-H of the Act, though the amount on which tax was being deducted is unclear. On legal opinion they stopped deducting tax at source) Whether or not the said doctrine should be applied (This would include the question of prospective or retrospective application), will depend on facts and circumstances of the case, including the past practice followed by the assessee and accepted by the department. When there is apparent divergence of opinion, to avoid litigation and pitfalls associated, it may be advisable for the Central Board of Direct Taxes to clarify doubts by issuing appropriate instruction/circular after ascertaining view of the assesses and stakeholders. (We do acknowledge that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has on several occasions quelled doubts and issued instructions/circulars). In addition to enhancing revenue and ensuring....
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.... result of its efforts and work, and not a remuneration paid by the assessee as a cellular mobile telephone service provider. 38. We must, therefore, reject the argument of the Revenue relying upon the decision of this Court in Singapore Airlines Limited (supra) that assessees would be liable to deduct tax at source even if the assessees are not making payment or crediting the income to the account of the franchisee/distributor. When the obligation, and the time and manner in which the tax is mandated by law to be deducted at source, is fixed by the statute, the same cannot be shifted/altered/modified or postponed on a concession in the court by the Revenue. The concession may be granted, when permissible, by way of a circular issued in accordance with Section 119 of the Act. We do not think that the decision in Singapore Airlines Limited (supra) can be read in the manner as suggested by the Revenue. 39. Coming back to the legal position of a distributor, it is to be generally regarded as different form that of an agent. The distributor buys goods on his account and sells them in his territory. The profit made is the margin of difference between the purchase price....
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....m and not his employer. 41. Thus, the term 'agent' denotes a relationship that is very different from that existing between a master and his servant, or between a principal and principal, or between an employer and his independent contractor. Although servants and independent contractors are parties to relationships in which one person acts for another, and thereby possesses the capacity to involve them in liability, yet the nature of the relationship and the kind of acts in question are sufficiently different to justify the exclusion of servants and independent contractors from the law relating to agency. In other words, the term 'agent' should be restricted to one who has the power of affecting the legal position of his principal by the making of contracts, or the disposition of the principal's property; viz. an independent contractor who may, incidentally, also affect the legal position of his principal in other ways. This can be ascertained by referring to and examining the indicia mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) in paragraph 8 of this judgment. It is in the restricted sense in which the term agent is used in Explanation (i) to Section 194-H of the Act. 42. In....