Customs appeals: High Court writs are generally restrained where a statutory High Court remedy exists and limitation lapsed. Where a statute provides a remedy to the High Court itself, the High Court will ordinarily decline writ intervention under Article 226 to avoid bypassing the statutory machinery; a litigant who has by his own default allowed the statutory limitation for a reference or appeal to lapse cannot ordinarily rely on Article 226 to cure that lapse, and claims of tribunal non consideration demand clear, specific, verified pleadings.
Share buybacks and GST: expenses tied to buybacks are not eligible for ITC, and common ITC must be reversed. The authority held that shares are "securities" excluded from "goods" and "services," but section 17(3) and the Chapter V rules treat "transactions in securities" as part of the "value of exempt supply" for ITC apportionment; therefore GST paid on expenses directly related to a share buyback is not eligible as ITC under section 16(1), and common ITC attributable to both taxable operations and the buyback must be reversed using the prescribed deeming values.
Mutual fund redemptions require proportionate ITC reversal under GST deeming provision; valuation set at 1% of sale value. A statutory deeming provision includes transactions in securities within the value of exempt supply for ITC apportionment; the Explanation to the input tax credit rules fixes the value of a security at 1% of its sale value, and redemption of mutual fund units is treated as a sale for this limited valuation purpose, requiring proportionate ITC reversal where common inputs serve both taxable operations and such investment transactions.
GST extended-period proceedings require show cause notices to allege and disclose fraud or wilful misstatement. Extended limitation under GST is available only where the tax shortfall is "by reason of" fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression to evade tax; these are jurisdictional facts. Show cause notices must allege such conduct and disclose the material basis for that inference, and must specify proposed amounts without language of final determination. Invocation of extended limitation without these ingredients vitiates proceedings and precludes remand; authorities may pursue recovery under the normal limitation where applicable.
Benami property orders grounded on a recalled precedent must be re-adjudicated without treating that precedent as binding. The Tribunal held that where an adjudicatory order under the PBPTA is substantially founded on a Supreme Court judgment that has been recalled on review, that order cannot stand; the correct remedial course is to set aside and remit for de novo adjudication so the Adjudicating Authority may re-examine evidence and apply the law without treating the recalled Ganpati Dealcom decision as binding on the question of the amendments' temporal applicability.
Transition of cess credits: abolished cess balances are dead credits, not eligible for GST transition or cash refunds. Unutilised Education Cess, Secondary & Higher Education Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess balances whose utilisation was limited to the same cess and whose levies were abolished became dead CENVAT credits; they were not eligible for transition under the exhaustive list in Section 140 and its Explanations, and Section 142(3) only prescribes payment in cash where refund is otherwise due under existing law, not a new substantive right to refund or a means to evade pre GST limitation.
Bank account freezes: limited temporary freezes permitted on reasonable suspicion, with strict notice, review and three month cap. A narrow implied power exists for banks to impose a temporary debit freeze without prior notice when there are reasonable grounds to suspect use of an account for money laundering or cyber fraud; this power must be exercised with same day communication to the accountholder, mandatory intimation to investigative authorities with proof, a one week window for accountholder explanation and bank decision, and a maximum three month continuation absent directions from competent authorities, after which the freeze must be lifted and access to the credit balance restored.
Section 143(2) notices not following CBDT formats invalidate ensuing scrutiny assessments; computer generation does not cure the defect. A scrutiny notice that does not conform to CBDT-prescribed formats-specifically by failing to specify whether selection is for limited, complete, or compulsory manual scrutiny-is not a valid jurisdictional notice; non compliance with the binding CBDT Instruction vitiates the Assessing Officer's authority and renders any consequent scrutiny assessment void ab initio. Computer generation of the notice does not cure the defect. A pure legal challenge to such notice validity may be admitted at the appellate stage where no new facts are required.
Imported petroleum product: partial testing and non categorical reports cannot sustain classification as high speed diesel under tariff rules. Classification requires evidence addressing all IS 1460:2005 parameters or, where full conformity is lacking, a Rule 4 "most akin" analysis showing closest resemblance among candidate headings based on reliable, reasoned laboratory results and expert opinion; partial testing or non categorical reports do not suffice to support penal or confiscatory measures.
Aircraft leases with no purchase option and retained lessor title remain operating leases, not interest-bearing financings. Where aircraft lease documentation preserves legal title in the lessor, imposes a return obligation without any purchase option or residual-payment mechanism, and regulatory treatment aligns with operating-lease norms, the arrangement constitutes an operating lease; absent an enforceable transfer of ownership to the lessee at term end, lease rentals cannot be re-characterised as interest for treaty purposes merely because of lease tenure or finance-like pricing.
PMLA complaints: BNSS imposes mandatory pre-cognizance hearing, affecting cognizance and arrest powers in money laundering cases. PMLA complaints are now governed by the general complaint-cognizance framework and, for complaints filed after BNSS commencement, by the corresponding BNSS provisions; the BNSS proviso requiring that the accused be given an opportunity to be heard before cognizance is mandatory, and failure to provide that opportunity invalidates the cognizance order. A scheduled predicate offence is a condition precedent to the existence of proceeds of crime and hence to PMLA liability, and once cognizance is taken, enforcement agencies' unilateral arrest powers against named accused are curtailed pending court-authorised custody.
Aircraft leasing: treaty text treats rental income as taxable in the lessor's residence when aircraft form part of international traffic. Whether leased aircraft create a fixed place Permanent Establishment depends on the disposal test: operational control and the right to use and conduct business from the place must vest in the enterprise; mere ownership and protective inspection or repossession rights do not suffice. Profit attribution to any alleged PE requires a FAR based arm's length analysis under Article 7(2), and Article 8(1)'s express inclusion of "operation or rental" covers rental income from aircraft forming part of a fleet used in international traffic, allocating taxing rights to the State of residence.
Aircraft leasing: MLI PPT not applicable without section 90(1) notification; operating leases and Article 8(1) allocate rental tax to Ireland. The Tribunal ruled that Articles 6-7 of the MLI cannot be applied against the India-Ireland DTAA without a specific section 90(1) notification; alternatively, the Revenue failed to show PPT-based abuse. Contractual and regulatory analysis classified the transactions as operating leases; no fixed place PE existed in India; and Article 8(1) allocates taxing rights on rental of aircraft in international traffic to Ireland.
E-way bill expiry alone cannot prove intent to evade tax; penalties require material indicating actual evasion. Expiry or non-generation of an e-way bill, by itself, does not establish intent to evade tax; penal action for movement in contravention requires material indicating diversion, mis-declaration or other indicia of tax risk. Where genuine invoices, correct particulars and evidence explaining delay exist and any fresh e-way bill is produced prior to final orders, authorities must record reasoned findings on intent; absent such material, detention, seizure and confiscation regime cannot be sustained and such misapplication is reviewable on certiorari.
PMLA bail in GST-ITC syndicate case: High Court upholds arrest validity and denies bail under twin conditions. The High Court held the PMLA arrest valid because the authorised officer recorded written reasons to believe and furnished written grounds of arrest; it found prima facie involvement in money laundering from corroborated banking, corporate and recorded-statement evidence establishing foundational facts of proceeds of crime; the statutory presumption applied and shifted the burden to the accused; and the mandatory twin bail conditions were not satisfied given the alleged magnitude, sophistication and continuing nature of the GST-ITC fraud, so regular bail was refused.
Wheel loaders classification: tribunal finds front end shovel loaders heading applies; no penalties without mala fide intent. Self propelled wheeled machines with front mounted buckets are classifiable under TI 8429 5100 as front end shovel loaders regardless of mining use; invocation of the extended period u/s 28(4) requires evidence of collusion, wilful mis statement or suppression with intent to evade duty, and long standing departmental acceptance plus full disclosure negates mala fides; misclassification or wrong exemption claim alone does not justify confiscation u/s 111(m) or penalties u/ss 114A/114AA without proof of knowingly false description or fraudulent conduct.
Income tax revisional jurisdiction: if AO investigated, PCIT must decide merits or record specific investigative failure, not remand. Where the Assessing Officer has conducted enquiries and accepted the assessee's explanation, the revisional authority cannot remand the assessment on a generic claim of inadequate enquiry; it must either record an abject failure to investigate with specific findings or decide the issue on merits in the revisional order and demonstrate error and prejudice.
Discretionary trusts taxed at maximum marginal rate must have surcharge computed under slab and threshold rules, not automatically at top rate. For private discretionary trusts taxed at the maximum marginal rate under sections 164/167B, the term denotes the highest basic slab rate under the Finance Act, but surcharge on that tax must be computed according to the Finance Act's slab- and threshold-based surcharge provisions; if the trust's total income does not cross the statutory surcharge threshold, no surcharge is leviable despite basic tax being at the top slab rate.
Quicklime classification: impure lime falls under specific tariff heading, not high purity calcium oxide, per HSN purity standard. The imported material, chemically tested as impure calcium oxide (about 92.2% CaO with mineral impurities), is classifiable under Heading 2522 10 00 as Quicklime. Chapter Note 1 to Chapter 25 must be read contextually and does not disqualify quicklime from Chapter 25 where the tariff text and HSN Explanatory Notes expressly contemplate calcined quicklime. Heading 2825 is confined to chemically pure calcium oxide (approximately 98% CaO) and its residuary sub-heading cannot displace the specific Heading 2522 unless that purity threshold and absence of impurities are met.
Reassessment notices: surviving-time computation under COVID-era relief and new limitation rules renders late notices time-barred. The court held that in transitional reassessment cases the appropriate sanctioning authority is determined by when the original three-year expiry fell within the COVID-era relief window, so approval by the ordinarily specified authority for within-three-year cases suffices; limitation is governed by a two-step surviving-time computation measured from the original notice as of the relief-window terminal date, excluding stayed periods and the time allowed to reply, and any later notice issued beyond that surviving time is time-barred under the substituted limitation regime read with the time-relief statute and the legal-fiction continuity.
TDS on large cash withdrawals: deduction at payment with exemptions for banks and regulated intermediaries, non filer rule absent here. Clause 393(3) requires banks, co operative societies engaged in banking and post offices to deduct two per cent TDS at the time of cash payment where ... Summary
TDS on large cash withdrawals: deduction at payment with exemptions for banks and regulated intermediaries, non filer rule absent here.
Clause 393(3) requires banks, co operative societies engaged in banking and post offices to deduct two per cent TDS at the time of cash payment where aggregate withdrawals from one or more accounts of a recipient exceed prescribed thresholds, with a higher threshold for co operative societies; Clause 393(4) exempts payments to the Government, banks, post offices, regulated business correspondents and authorised white label ATM operators. The Bill mirrors the existing framework but, in the extracted text, omits an explicit non filer regime and express central government notification powers, creating potential operational and interpretive uncertainty.
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