Karnataka High Court Orders Refund Of ₹10 Crore, Says Payment During GST Search Was 'Not Voluntary' U/S 74(5) CGST Act

The Karnataka High Court held that the assessee's payment of Rs. 10 crores could not be treated as a voluntary payment under Section 74(5) of the CGST Act (Central Goods and Services Tax Act), as the DRC-03 shows 'NIL' entries for both interest and penalty. The bench observed that the 'NIL' entries clearly indicated that the payment was made by the assessee under coercion and...

Statement Made Before Customs Officer U/S 108 Customs Act Over Goods Seizure Not Admissible In Evidence: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that statements made by an assessee to the Customs Department under Section 108 of the Customs Act 1962, upon seizure of its goods, is not admissible as evidence in court of law.“Statements under Section 108 would not be admissible in evidence,” said a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain.Section 108 deals with the power of customs...

Cannot Cancel GST Registration Without Passing Reasoned Speaking Order: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that while cancelling GST registrations, authorities must pass reasoned and speaking orders. It held that doing otherwise would render the order unsustainable in the eyes of the law. “Once the impugned cancellation order has been passed without putting any proper notice or affording any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, the same itself is...

S.110 Customs Act | Extension To Issue SCN Must Be Granted Before Expiry Of Initial Six-Month Period: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that the six-month extension contemplated under Section 110 of the Customs Act 1962 for issuance of a show cause notice after detention of goods by the Customs must be issued before expiry of the initial six-month window.For context, Section 110 deals with Seizure of goods. It stipulates that where any goods are seized, and no notice is given within...

GSTAT Drops Proceedings Against Eclat Serum Supplier After DGAP Fails To Trace Gujarat Firm

The GST Appellate Tribunal at Delhi recently dropped anti profiteering proceedings against Shree Suktam Enterprise, a Gujarat supplier in the chain of biotech company S R Lifesciences. The tribunal observed that the Director General of Anti Profiteering (DGAP) was unable to trace the firm or obtain evidence to determine whether the benefit of a 10 percent GST rate reduction on the skin...

'Estimation Theory Doesn't Apply To Sham Purchases': ITAT Mumbai Restores Full Disallowance Of ₹26.49 Lakh

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai has held that where purchases are conclusively proven to be bogus and the assessee fails to substantiate the genuineness of suppliers, the entire purchase amount must be added to income and the benefit of estimating profit element cannot be applied. A Bench of Smt. Beena Pillai (Judicial Member) and Shri Omkareshwar Chidara...

Delhi HC Allows Time-Barred Appeal Against Customs' Confiscation Of Gold, Says Traveller Cannot Be Left Remediless Due To Wrong Legal Advice

The Delhi High Court recently allowed an air traveller to prefer a time-barred appeal against confiscation of gold by the Customs Department, upon his arrival from Thailand.In doing so, a division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain said, “the Petitioner cannot be rendered completely remediless in this matter as he may have proceeded on the legal advice.”The Petitioner...

Supreme Court Leaves Open Question Whether Customs Can Seize Goods Which Left Port

The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain an appeal against the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (“CESTAT”) view that once goods are cleared from the port, customs authorities lose their power to confiscate them for violations such as non-compliance with license requirements. However, the bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan left open the question...

Delhi High Court Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost On Senior Citizen Who Failed To Attend Personal Hearing Over ₹1.95 Crore GST Demand

The Delhi High Court has directed the Customs Department to grant one more opportunity to a septuagenarian woman, who failed to appear for personal hearing in connection with ₹1,95,11,160 demand raised against her firm.The Petitioner is the sole proprietor of the firm, who has a dealership agreement with M/s. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in respect of domestic &...

UPGST Act | Confiscation Notice U/S 130 Cannot Be Issued For Mere Violation Of Record-Maintenance Requirements U/S 35: Allahabad HC

Recently, the Allahabad High Court reiterated that notices under Section 130 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Service Tax Act 2017 for confiscation and levy of penalty, could not be issued for alleged violation of maintenance of accounts and records as required under Section 35 of the Act. It was held that such notices under Section 130 could only be issued once the...

Not Reasonable To Expect Taxpayer To Check Every Tab On GST Portal: Calcutta High Court Orders Appeal To Be Heard Despite Delay

The Calcutta High Court has held that where an adjudication order under the GST regime is uploaded on the GST Portal only under the “View Additional Notices and Orders” tab rather than the primary “View Notices and Orders” tab the resulting delay in filing appeal is to be condoned, considering that taxpayers cannot reasonably be expected to check multiple tabs for final...

IT Act | Reassessment Cannot Be Used To Review Assessment When All Documents Were Earlier Disclosed: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that reassessment proceedings under Sections 148 & 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be initiated to re-open issues that were already scrutinized and accepted during the original assessment, observing that a mere change of mind on the part of the Assessing Officer does not constitute reason to believe nor permit reassessment. A Division Bench...