Refund entitlement for SEZ supplies upheld despite endorsement delays and technical defects; limitation treated as directory.
A refund claim for IGST on supplies to SEZ units should not be denied solely for delay or technical defects in export endorsements when delays arise from the authorized officer and the goods have reached the SEZ with tax remitted. The endorsement need not state authorized operations retrospectively. Procedural rules permit rectification and refiling of refund applications, limitation provisions are to be treated as directory in this context, and notifications excluding periods from limitation computation support allowance of genuine claims; minor documentary mismatches can be corrected by revised statements.

Unexplained cash deposits: prospective application of higher tax rate under Section 115BBE clarified for post-amendment assessments.
The assessing process treated certain cash receipts as unexplained under Section 69A read with the higher-rate taxation provision, but acceptance of an opening cash balance and maintenance of a cash book reduced the addition; contemporaneous records are decisive. The amendment imposing a special flat tax rate on unexplained income applies prospectively and does not operate retrospectively, so its applicability depends on the assessment year.

Classification of goods: tribunal treated unauthorised laboratory testing as undermining test reports, affecting customs classification and valuation.
Classification turned on whether imports were furnace oil or waste oil, with the tribunal emphasising the necessity that laboratory test reports originate from a laboratory authorised to analyse the substance; unauthorised testing undermined the reports' evidentiary weight and, accordingly, the tribunal accepted the appellant's declared classification and valuation while stressing reliance on duly authorised, competent laboratories for customs determinations.

Jurisdictional transfer under Section 127 can reassign assessments within the same city without prior hearing, as an administrative measure.
Jurisdictional transfer under Section 127 empowers senior tax officials to reassign cases for administrative convenience, generally requiring reasons and an opportunity to be heard; however, transfers within the same city do not require prior hearing. The tribunal found a valid transfer order centralising the matter within the same city, held the absence of prior hearing immaterial under the intra-city exception, and concluded the administrative transfer did not prejudice the assessee or invalidate the assessment.

Notional rental income: ownership can trigger annual value assessment with standard deduction; vacancy allowance restricted when not let.
Ownership alone can give rise to taxable annual value by way of notional rental income, with annual value for unlet properties determined by reference to expected rent and, where applicable, by a proportionate measure of property cost. From that annual value the statutory 30% standard deduction and interest on borrowed capital are deductible. Vacancy allowance is not treated as available where properties remain unlet for the entire year, and balance-sheet disclosure of property ownership can support assessment.

Incriminating material discovered during search permits reassessment under Section 153A, validating additional income adjustments by tax authorities.
The Tribunal applied the principle that discovery of previously undisclosed documents during a search can constitute incriminating material, thereby activating Section 153A jurisdiction to reassess income for multiple prior years. It found an undisclosed balance sheet showing ownership of properties as incriminating, and addressed related challenges - estimation of house property income, jurisdictional objections, notice deficiencies, interest levies, and natural justice claims - against the backdrop of valid reassessment under the search-linked provision.

Genuineness of transactions: accommodation entries and circumstantial evidence can defeat claimed tax exemptions without commercial substance.
Denial of exemption under Section 10(38) is justified where claims rest on paper companies and accommodation entry providers; synchronized trading, SEBI identified price rigging, and weak connection between claimants and transactions diminish the probative value of demat statements and share certificates. The legal focus is on the onus of proof, application of the preponderance of probabilities and circumstantial inferences, requiring the assessee to establish commercial substance for unsecured loans and claimed trades rather than rely solely on documentation.

Timely filing of cross objections: strict procedural compliance required, limited scope for delay condonation without sufficient cause.
The article focuses on the requirement to file cross objections within the prescribed period after service of an appeal notice, the department's failure to meet that timeline, and its subsequent delay condonation application citing unavailability of appeal copies and pandemic disruption. The tribunal closely examined these grounds, applied the sufficiency-of-cause standard and pandemic limitation guidance, and emphasized strict procedural compliance and departmental duty to ensure timely filings.

Deduction under Section 80P for cooperative societies hinges on mutuality and classification as cooperative banks.
Deduction eligibility under Section 80P depends on the principle of mutuality and on whether receipts involve entities that qualify as banking companies; interest income meeting mutuality criteria may be deductible for cooperative societies, whereas interest arising from dealings with entities classifiable as banks should be treated as income from other sources. The tribunal required verification of claims and reclassification of such interest where applicable.

Section 43B payment rule prevents deduction for unpaid service tax, altering taxable income and accounting timing.
Section 43B's payment-based rule makes deductions allowable only on actual payment; applied to service tax, unpaid service tax not remitted before the return filing due date is disallowable and may be treated as part of assessee's income, despite not being charged to profit and loss. Under mercantile accounting service tax received must be included in turnover, and legislative changes to payment schedules affect compliance timing; precedents reinforce that non-payment precludes deduction under the non-absentee payment requirement of Section 43B.

Validity of reassessment notices to deceased assessees hinges on proper service to legal heirs, else jurisdiction is lacking.
The core legal rule is that reassessment notices must be served on a living person or the legal heir; issuance to a deceased individual vitiates jurisdiction. Service on the correct person is a condition precedent to reassessment, and legal heirs have no statutory duty to inform authorities of death. Legal representative liability arises only where proceedings began during the assessee's lifetime and may be continued against successors. Courts may restrain actions taken without jurisdiction while statutory remedies remain available.

Refund of unutilized ITC: circulars cannot override statutory entitlement where inverted duty structures cause credit accumulation.
Interpretation of Clause (ii) of the proviso to Section 54(3) concerns eligibility for refund of unutilized ITC when inputs attract higher tax than outputs; administrative Circular No. 135/05/2020 was applied by revenue to deny refunds where principal input and output bore the same rate, but the circular cannot add to or curtail statutory entitlements and the legislative intent requires considering all inputs that cause ITC accumulation.

Typographical error in e-way bill should not attract GST penalty absent intent to evade tax.
A typographical error in the e-way bill vehicle number resulted in seizure and a GST penalty; the court held that an isolated clerical mismatch, when other transport and tax documents correspond and no further evidence of evasion exists, does not demonstrate the requisite mens rea for penal action and quashed the penalty orders, stressing equitable application of detention and seizure provisions.

Failure to file tax returns within the prescribed time can sustain criminal prosecution despite later accepted belated returns.
The dispute focuses on prosecution under Section 276CC for failure to file returns within the prescribed time, where acceptance of a belated return and dismissal of penalty proceedings do not necessarily negate the presumption of mens rea; the accused bears the burden to rebut intentional concealment, and evidential material from searches indicating undisclosed transactions can sustain criminal proceedings.

Moratorium protection preserves debtor rights and enforces strict statutory timelines in insolvency proceedings while safeguarding participatory fairness.
Stages under Sections 95-99 are non-judicial; the resolution professional facilitates fact-finding and gives a recommendatory report, while the adjudicating authority must independently assess materials and exercise jurisdiction. The moratorium functions as a protective statutory bar on creditor actions requiring strict adherence to timelines. Natural justice obligations persist: debtors retain participatory rights and an opportunity to be heard, and procedural fairness can be inferred from the legislative scheme even absent express hearing language.

Timeliness of Section 80G applications: application treated as timely and statutory reconsideration directed under purposive interpretation.
Timeliness of registration under Section 80G was examined with focus on statutory deadlines, the effect of provisional approval under Section 80G(5), and amendments impacting trusts that commenced activities before formal registration; interpretation emphasised purposive and harmonious construction, legislative intent, natural justice in notice and hearing, and directed reconsideration of eligibility with opportunity to submit documents.

Limitation period in tax reassessment: amended time limits prevent retrospective validation of reassessment notices under the new regime.
The document focuses on the amended reassessment regime introduced by the Finance Act 2021, highlighting the shortened limitation periods and the mandatory pre-notice procedure requiring inquiry and opportunity to be heard. It rejects administrative attempts to render earlier notices compliant with amended law via retrospective treatment, finds the 'travel back in time' theory legally impermissible, and stresses that limitation periods, pandemic-related extensions, and procedural safeguards determine the validity of reopening assessments.

Reverse charge mechanism applies when buyer bears GST liability for raw cotton purchased through an intermediary Kacha Arhtia.
The AAR concluded that a Kacha Arhtia acts as an intermediary who facilitates sale, executes Form I, deducts commission and remits proceeds to the seller, and does not transfer title; therefore, where raw cotton is purchased from an agriculturist through a Kacha Arhtia, the registered buyer is liable to pay GST under the reverse charge mechanism, while market fee obligations and auction procedures under the APMC Rules govern the transaction.

Source rule protects payments for services used to earn income abroad from domestic taxation when characterised accordingly.
Whether aircraft maintenance and repair by a non-resident constitutes technical services is addressed by reference to the specialised expertise, regulatory and safety obligations distinguishing such services from ordinary repairs; contemporaneously, retrospective statutory amendments clarifying taxation of fees for technical services are balanced against the source rule exception, under which payments for services used to earn income abroad are not taxed domestically.

Nexus doctrine: source based taxation requires a real territorial connection to tax cross border consultancy success fees.
A "success fee" paid to a non resident for consultancy services characterized by human expertise constitutes a fee for technical services when there is a real and substantial connection between the income and India. The right to tax is allocated by the source rule: income is taxable in the jurisdiction where the economic source of payment is located. Parliamentary taxing power over extra territorial income is limited by the Doctrine of Territorial Nexus; only payments with a sufficient nexus to India are subject to tax at source obligations.