Suppressed turnover arising from unrecorded sales generated in a disclosed business is assessable only to the embedded profit, absent evidence of unexplained investment or an independent undisclosed activity. Because gross receipts recover both cost and profit, historical profitability provides an objective estimation basis; a moderately higher margin may apply to incremental out-of-books realisation. Profit was estimated at 2%, restricting the turnover addition to that amount; the evidentiary value of individual Excel sheets remained undecided. Cash-payment disallowance requires payment-wise, person-wise and day-wise verification against the prescribed limit, rather than yearly ledger aggregates. Claimed Rule 6DD exceptions require supporting-material verification, and the disallowance was remanded for that limited examination.

Transfer-pricing benchmarking of back-office support services requires comparables with similar functions and risk profiles; specialised engineering, knowledge-process, outsourced, geographically distinct businesses and entities affected by extraordinary events were excluded, while one comparable was retained, requiring recomputation of the adjustment. A low-risk captive service provider is entitled to a working-capital adjustment on furnishing supporting computations. Separate notional interest on associated-enterprise receivables cannot be charged where receivables are already reflected in working-capital adjustment and service pricing, as this duplicates the adjustment. Associated-enterprise cost allocations incurred without mark-up cann.....

Intra-group services closely linked to core business operations may be benchmarked together under TNMM; where facts and the business model remain unchanged, earlier transfer-pricing treatment should be followed despite pending departmental appeals. The related transfer-pricing adjustments and connected branch-office expenditure and depreciation/depletion disallowances were accordingly deleted or allowed. Arm's-length interest on external commercial borrowings required fresh determination by the AO/TPO. Site-restoration costs incurred to discharge a contractual decommissioning obligation were allowable business expenditure despite utilisation of a provision. Refund interest depended on verification of issuance and encashment; TDS credit requ.....

Specific investigation information linking an unsecured loan to an alleged accommodation-entry lender can establish a live nexus for reassessment; conclusive proof of escaped income is not required when reasons are recorded. Reassessment was upheld on that basis. Confirmation and banking records alone do not establish an unsecured loan's creditworthiness or genuineness where the lender does not respond to statutory notice, is not produced for examination, and adverse investigation material remains unrebutted. The loan was treated as unexplained cash credit and related interest was disallowed. Business-loss set-off and carry-forward require sufficient material demonstrating compliance with statutory conditions; unsupported current-year and brought-forward loss claims were rejected.

Working capital adjustment in transfer pricing may neutralise margin differences arising from inventory, trade receivables and trade payables through the time value of funds. Rule 10B(3) permits adjustment where a difference materially affects price, cost or profit and can be eliminated by a reasonably accurate computation. Verification of the taxpayer's computation and supporting material is required before granting the adjustment. A CSR contribution disallowed as business expenditure may nevertheless qualify for a separate section 80G deduction. An appellate authority may entertain an additional claim arising from facts already on record, subject to verification of the donee's eligibility, payment, prescribed receipt, payment mode and deductible extent.

AE segmental benchmarking under TNMM requires consideration of segmental results included in the transfer-pricing study and certified information furnished before completion of the transfer-pricing assessment. Neither the Act nor the Rules requires audited segmental accounts; where the AE-segment margin falls within the arm's-length range of selected comparables, rejection on conjectural grounds is unwarranted and the related adjustment is deleted. Ind AS presentation of part of compulsorily convertible debentures as equity does not change their underlying debt character before actual conversion or redemption. Interest remains deductible in principle, subject to verification that no conversion or redemption occurred during the relevant year.

Section 28(9A) of the Customs Act suspends the adjudication limitation period while a specified circumstance prevents determination of duty liability, with the statutory period recommencing when that circumstance ceases. Transfer of a matter to the Call Book is an administrative consequence of such deferment and does not independently create the exclusion period. Where noticees seek deferment because a connected writ petition and interim protection affect the underlying duty liability, those circumstances are directly relevant to non-determination. Noticees' own request for deferment may substantially satisfy the communication requirement. The limitation period consequently runs from dismissal of the connected writ petition, and adjudication within the ensuing unextended one-year period is timely.

Sections 130 and 130E of the Customs Act exclude High Court appellate jurisdiction over questions relating to the rate of customs duty, including peripheral issues affecting assessment. Entitlement to customs-duty exemption for stores imported for vessel-salvage operations bears on the rate of duty and has wider application; it must therefore be challenged directly before the Supreme Court under Section 130E. Appeals raising that exemption issue are not maintainable before the High Court and are liable to be dismissed for want of jurisdiction, with the Revenue free to approach the Supreme Court.

Freezing of a bank account under section 110(5) of the Customs Act may initially continue for six months and be extended once for a further six months only on recorded written reasons. Issuance of a show-cause notice does not preserve investigating authorities' power to continue the freeze beyond the statutory maximum of twelve months. As the maximum period had expired, the High Court found a prima facie basis for de-freezing and directed the bank to de-freeze the account forthwith.

Non-compliance with import conditions for restricted gold renders the goods prohibited for confiscation purposes, whether the items are treated as gold bars or jewellery. Failure to meet eligible passenger, declaration and permissible-import requirements may support absolute confiscation. Redemption under Section 125 is discretionary rather than a right. Non-declaration, concealment and surrounding circumstances may justify refusal of redemption on payment of fine. Writ review does not ordinarily disturb that discretionary decision unless it is perverse or arbitrary. Absolute confiscation of the gold ornaments and refusal to permit redemption were upheld.

Written acceptance of customs reassessment may dispense with a speaking order but does not waive the statutory right to appeal. Declared transaction value cannot be rejected without complying with the Customs Act and Customs Valuation Rules: the importer must receive written grounds for doubting the declared value, and any redetermination must follow the prescribed sequential valuation method. Payment of enhanced duty under protest and undisclosed comparable-import data do not establish unconditional acceptance of enhanced value. Orders-in-Appeal rejecting valuation challenges solely because of acceptance letters were set aside, with consequential relief according to law.

Advance Authorisation IGST exemption remains subject to the pre-import condition; later fulfilment of export obligation or issuance of EODCs does not erase an established breach. Imports breaching that condition must instead be regularised under the prescribed procedure, with EODCs and redemption certificates relevant to liability. IGST breach must be quantified Bill of Entry-wise and raw material-wise by correlating imports, exports and chronology, while accounting for permitted clubbing of authorisations. The IGST demand requires fresh quantification on that basis. For the relevant period, recovery provisions did not independently authorise interest, confiscation, redemption fine or penalty for the IGST liability; those consequential liabilities were set aside, including interest on re-quantified IGST.

Rule 12 permits rejection of declared customs value only where there is reason to doubt its truth or accuracy, the importer has an opportunity to explain the price, and valuation follows the prescribed method, including contemporaneous import values where relevant. Unsupported intelligence and recovered documents did not establish undervaluation, rendering redetermination and differential duty unsustainable. Electronic data, messages, emails and invoices required statutory certification and reliable authentication; unauthenticated material could not prove undervaluation. Each IEC holder filing its own bill of entry remained the importer liable for duty, preventing recovery from an alleged proxy importer. Goods unavailable for confiscation could not attract confiscation or redemption fine.

Classification of specially designed GEHO slurry pump components depends on their sole or principal use where they may fall under more than one tariff heading. Pins, bolts, diaphragms, valves, gaskets, seals, bushes, liners and allied items manufactured exclusively for, and unusable with machines other than, the GEHO pump qualify as pump parts rather than parts of general use or independently classifiable rubber articles. The declared classification was sustained, while reclassification, differential duty, interest and penalties were set aside with consequential relief.

Bail in an investigation into alleged customs and anti-dumping duty evasion through invalid certificates of origin was granted because the key evidence was documentary, relevant records had been seized, and further verification of supplier correspondence and Bills of Lading could continue without custodial confinement. Concerns over evidence tampering were addressed through safeguards requiring cooperation with the investigation, attendance when summoned, non-tampering with evidence, passport surrender, and restrictions on foreign travel.

Accused already on bail should ordinarily receive summons before an arrest warrant is issued after a complaint is transferred to a Special Court. A warrant may follow only where circumstances justify it. Issuing a warrant without first summoning such accused is unlawful and liable to be set aside. The accused must appear on the next listed date; on default, the Trial Court may lawfully adopt measures to secure attendance.

Continuing failure to deliver possession of an allotted unit or refund amounts received constituted a continuing default, creating a continuing cause of action for a financial creditor's insolvency application. Inclusion of the creditor's claim in a settlement scheme operated as an acknowledgment of debt, preventing the claim from being treated as time-barred. The application therefore remained within limitation. Once the revival scheme was declared unworkable and parties were permitted to revive insolvency proceedings, objections based on the scheme's subsistence and parallel proceedings no longer survived. The corporate debtor's admission into insolvency consequently remained effective.

FERA penalty quantification must be reasoned, reasonable and proportionate to the contravention; the statutory maximum under Section 50 does not by itself justify the amount imposed. Where certain export-realisation contraventions were excluded and an RBI write-off was noted, retaining the original penalty without explaining its basis was disproportionate. A finding that the penalty was not harsh or excessive, without articulated quantification reasons, was insufficient. The penalty was therefore set aside and redetermined at a lower amount, with the appeal partly allowed.

Prolonged incarceration in a money-laundering prosecution may, in an appropriate case, outweigh the statutory twin conditions governing bail under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act. Bail was granted where the accused had remained in custody for over a year, was already on bail in the predicate offence, and investigation into that offence remained incomplete. Material examined in the money-laundering investigation included matters whose connection with tainted money and the predicate offence required trial determination. Release was made subject to safeguards, including passport surrender, travel restrictions, regular trial-court attendance, and non-contact with witnesses.

Quashing of predicate proceedings for lack of investigative jurisdiction removes the subsisting nexus required between alleged proceeds of crime and criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence. Where the predicate prosecution against a person is quashed in its entirety, and that order remains operative and unchallenged, the Enforcement Directorate cannot independently preserve or notionally revive the predicate offence for money-laundering proceedings. Proceedings against other accused cannot establish the missing statutory nexus attributable to that person. PMLA summons and consequential proceedings were quashed, with liberty to initiate fresh proceedings if the predicate prosecution is lawfully restored or revived.