Tax
Customs Act | 'Goods Already Re-Exported Cannot Be Confiscated': CESTAT Mumbai Sets Aside Absolute Confiscation Order
The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Mumbai has set aside the absolute confiscation of imported goods ordered by the Commissioner (Appeals), holding that once the goods had already been re-exported prior to the filing of the Revenue appeal, the order for absolute confiscation of goods is not sustainable in law. The Bench of Member (Judicial) Ajay...
Assessee Ineligible For Excise Duty Refund On Ambulances, Neither Manufacturer Nor Buyer U/S 11B(2)(e) Central Excise Act: CESTAT
The Chandigarh Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that the assessee is ineligible for excise duty refund on ambulances, as it is neither a manufacturer nor a buyer under Section 11B(2)(e) Central Excise Act. The bench further noted that the assessee was merely operating the ambulances under a government agreement, which does not make him...
GSTN Issues Advisory On How To Add Valid Bank Account Details On GST Portal
The Goods and Services Network (GSTN) has issued advisory on furnishing bank account details to avoid suspension of their GST Registration and disruption of business activities. As changes with respect to Rule 10A will be implemented on the GST Portal soon, GSTN clarified that taxpayers who have not yet furnished the bank account details till date to do so at the earliest. As per Rule...
GST Act | IGST Refund Doesn't Bar Compensation Cess Refund: Bombay HC Calls Department's Interpretation Of S.16(3)(b) “Completely Illogical”.
The Bombay High Court has directed the Department to refund the Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Compensation Cess to the assessee observing that a manufacturer exporting goods is entitled to refund of unutilized Input Tax Credit(ITC) of Compensation Cess, as Section 16(3)(b) of the integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 must apply to both the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST)...
GST | Assessee Must Be Given Personal Hearing Since SCN Lacked Reasons: Delhi High Court Quashes Demand Against Stock Broker
The Delhi High Court has set aside the demand raised against a stock broker, noting that both the show cause notice as well as the final order were bereft of any reasons, disabling the broker to make effective representation.“It is seen that the SCN actually does not give any reasons…Even the impugned order does not give any reasons,” a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and...
CESTAT Delhi Quashes Service Tax Demand On Western Geco International's Project Office For Offshore Data Acquisition In Deep Sea
The Principal Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Delhi has set aside service tax demand on offshore seismic survey (data acquisition) by Western Geco International Ltd., Gurugram (project office of Western Geco British Virgin Islands). The Bench comprising of Mr. P.V. Subba Rao (Technical Member) and Ms. Rachna Gupta (Judicial Member)...
Suspension Of State Tax Officer For Delayed Report Unjustified When Authority Failed To Act In GST Fraud Case: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that where loss is caused to the State, a State Tax Officer may not be suspended for mere delay in submitting a report. Justice Vikas Budhwar held that this would be especially impermissible in a case where the authority to act on the report in time chooses not to do so.He held that, despite the fact that the petitioner submitted the report with delay,...
GST Authorities Cannot Assume Jurisdiction For Passing Adverse Orders For Work Concluded Under VAT Regime: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that GST Authorities cannot claim jurisdiction for levying tax, penalty, and interest on work that was concluded prior to the implementation of the GST Act. Notices were issued to the petitioner, a work contractor, for the Financial Year 2018-19 under the GST Act. The petitioner was unable to reply to the notices in time. Consequently, an ex-parte...
GST Department To Re-Inspect Changed Place Of Business Before GST Registration Cancellation: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court, in a matter concerning retrospective cancellation of registration despite having amended place of business, directed “The GST Department may re-inspect the new premises of the Petitioner and obtain a physical inspection report.” The Division Bench, comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain stated that the officials of the GST Department...
CGST Act | Bombay High Court Stays GST Demand Order Over Delayed Service Of Showcause Notice
The Bombay High Court granted ad-interim relief to the assessee by staying the operation of a GST Demand Order The Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla & Amit S. Jamsandekar was hearing a writ preferred by the assessee seeking to quash the GST demand order challenging the Show Case Notice to be time barred per Section 73(2) and 73(10) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST)...
Amount Deposited Under Protest During Customs Probe Can Be Adjusted Towards Pre-Deposit In Appeal: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that an amount deposited with the Customs under protest, during investigation by the Department, can be adjusted towards pre-deposit to be made when filing appeal against its order.For context, Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 requires deposit of 7.5% of the amounts which are in dispute, when filing an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals) or CESTAT.In the...
Assessee Missed Hearing Due To Faulty VC Link & Hearing Email Sent At 3AM: Kerala High Court Quashes CIT(A) Order
The Kerala High Court has set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) after finding that the assessee missed the hearing due to the non-functional video-conference link (VC link) and because the hearing link was emailed at an odd hour, i.e., at 3:13 a.m. CDT (Central Daylight Time) while he was in the U.S. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. stated that the assessee...