Rajasthan High Court Upholds Hindustan Zinc's ₹18.87 Crore Additional Depreciation Claim On Power Plant Machinery

The Rajasthan High Court has upheld Hindustan Zinc Ltd.'s claim for additional depreciation of ₹18.87 crore on new plant and machinery installed at its captive power plant and wind power plant. The court held that electricity generation falls within the scope of “production”, which has a wider connotation than “manufacture”. It also held that an assessee engaged in manufacturing or producing an article or thing can claim additional depreciation on qualifying power-generation machinery,...

CESTAT Mumbai Sets Aside ₹46.41 Crore Service Tax Demand Against Yash Raj Films Over Overseas Film Shoots

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai, has ruled that overseas Local Area Representatives (LARs) who arrange third-party services for film shoots abroad act as intermediaries. Since the place of provision of these intermediary services was outside India, Yash Raj Films Private Limited was not liable to pay service tax under the reverse charge mechanism. The tribunal set aside a demand of ₹46.41 crore, along with interest and penalties.A bench of Judicial Member...

Can MVAT Credit Be Denied To Genuine Buyers For Sellers' Tax Default? Bombay High Court To Examine

The Bombay High Court will examine whether Section 48(5) of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002, permits the denial of input tax credit (ITC) to a bona fide purchaser without any allegation of fraud, collusion, or connivance, particularly when the State has failed to recover the tax from the defaulting seller.A Division Bench of Justices Suman Shyam and Gautam A. Ankhad admitted six appeals filed by IJM (India) Infrastructure Limited against the State of Maharashtra. The court will also...

GSTAT Orders IRCTC To Deposit ₹50.41 Crore For Failing To Pass On GST Benefit On Rail Neer

The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) at Delhi has held that Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) failed to pass on the benefit of a reduction in tax rates on Rail Neer packaged drinking water after GST was introduced in 2017. The tribunal found that although the Railway Board fixed the maximum retail price (MRP), IRCTC had the discretion to determine the transfer price at which it supplied the product to railway licensees and contractors.A special bench comprising...

Uttarakhand HC Seeks Review Of Income Tax Relief For Taxpayer Whose Cheque Was Cleared Late Despite Timely Deposit

The Uttarakhand High Court has recently directed the Income Tax Department to reconsider a taxpayer's claim for relief under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, after his final tax installment was credited after the deadline despite the cheque being deposited on time.Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari was hearing a petition filed by Sachin Kumar Gupta, whose declaration under the scheme was treated as void because his final payment was credited on October 5, 2017, instead of by September 30,...

CESTAT Kolkata Holds Vodafone SIM Distributor Commission Exempt From Service Tax, Sets Aside Part Of Demand

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Kolkata, has ruled that commission earned from a Vodafone SIM distributorship was exempt from service tax under a 2012 notification.The tribunal also set aside the demand on plastic dustbins and portable toilets supplied to local bodies and State Governments, holding that the transactions involved sales of goods on which VAT had been paid.The ruling came in an appeal filed by Reliable Enterprises, a sole proprietorship based in...

Gujarat High Court Quashes ₹43.43 Crore GST Demand Against Amul

The Gujarat High Court has recently quashed an IGST demand of ₹43.43 crore against Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited, popularly known as Amul. The court held that failure to allocate common expenses to branches through cross-charging does not, by itself, establish fraud or suppression of facts to evade GST.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati ruled that the tax authorities had failed to establish the conditions required to invoke Section...

Cash Loan Violating Income Tax Provisions Still Enforceable Under Cheque Bounce Law: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 30 September held that a cash loan does not become unenforceable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, merely because it violates income tax provisions. Justice M.M. Sathaye dismissed Manoj Oswal's revision application challenging his conviction in a cheque dishonour case filed by businessman Vijay Gandhi over a Rs. 8.5 lakh loan. Referring to an earlier Division Bench ruling, he observed: “Violation of section 269SS and/or section 271AAD of the...

CESTAT Chennai Remands Ramco Cements' CENVAT Dispute, Says Actual Nature Of Work Must Be Examined

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, on 15 October set aside the CENVAT credit demand against Ramco Cements Ltd. and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority to examine the services contractor-wise and quantify the demand falling within the normal limitation period. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao held that machinery installation, repair and maintenance services cannot be excluded from CENVAT...

Sikkim High Court Quashes Zydus Healthcare Reassessments, Says Audit Objection Isn't New Evidence

The Sikkim High Court on 14 October quashed income tax reassessment proceedings against Zydus Healthcare Limited for three assessment years, holding that an audit objection expressing a contrary opinion on an issue examined during the original assessment cannot, by itself, justify reopening the assessment. Justice Bhaskar Raj Pradhan observed that the language used in Section 149(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act “clearly contemplates new evidence and not new opinion.” The Income Tax Department...

Rejection Of Correction Plea Cannot Be Challenged In VAT Revision: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on 12 October held that Section 48 of the Himachal Pradesh VAT Act does not permit a revision petition against an order rejecting a correction application under Section 47(1). A Division Bench of Justices Ajay Mohan Goel and Romesh Verma dismissed a revision petition filed by Super Power Steels against the Tax Tribunal's rejection of its application to correct an earlier order. They held: “No revision is maintainable under Section 48 of the Act against such an...

Mere Introduction To Freight Forwarder Does Not Prove Intent To Evade Customs Duty: CESTAT Chennai

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Chennai, on 15 October held that merely introducing an importer to a freight forwarder does not establish involvement in customs duty evasion or justify a penalty under the Customs Act, 1962. Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar set aside the Rs. 1 lakh penalty imposed on Chirag Jayant Shah, an assistant manager at A.E. Logistics Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, for allegedly facilitating the import of undervalued branded glass stones. The Bench...