The authors have carefully studied the recent landmark judgement of the Special Bench in Biocon Ltd on the deductibility of ESOPs in the hands of the employer and identified several important aspects in it. They argue that the Department is wrong in adopting the “double edged sword” stand of taxing ESOPs in the hands of the employee while denying a deduction to the employer

The learned Jurist reminisces about the stellar contribution that the Hyderabad Bench of the Tribunal has made to the cause of justice. Several of its Members have been elevated to higher echelons of the Judiciary; it has attracted the crème de la crème of the profession and it has delivered several landmark judgements. This is made possible due to the stellar quality of the people behind the Bench says the learned Judge

S. 132B was amended by the Finance Act 2013 to provide that the cash seized during a search cannot be adjusted against the liability to pay advance-tax. The authors argue that the said provision, apart from being harsh on the assessees is ill-thought of because it will discourage voluntary disclosure of unaccounted income. They also explain the other implications of the said provision

S. 147 confers wide powers on the AO to reopen completed assessments and bring to tax income which has escaped assessment. However, there are several technical rules that have to complied with by the AO. The authors have carefully studied the entire law on the subject and presented it in a clear and succinct manner so that it can be ensured that the reopening is as per the law

Eminent Jurist Soli Dastur draws upon his rich experience of the past five decades to lay down the duties and accountability of lawyers and how they should deal with several ethical problems and areas of conflict that arise in day-to-day practice. With his usual candour and clarity of expression, he examines the issues threadbare and provides invaluable and authoritative guidance on what they should do in difficult situations so as to keep their professional integrity intact at all times. Though written in the context of lawyers, the article provides guidance to professionals in all fields

Section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 confers wide powers on the Commissioner to revise any assessment which is “erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the revenue”. While the section is widely worded, Courts have read in a number of checks and balances to ensure that the said power is not abused by the Commissioner. The author has carefully analyzed the entire law on the subject and identified all the core legal principles

S. 56(2)(vii)(b), as substituted by the Finance Act 2013, provides that if immovable property is transferred for a consideration which is less than the stamp duty value, the difference is assessable as income in the transferee’s hands. The authors have carefully studied this provision and raised several thought-proving questions as to its implications in the hands of the transferor and the transferee

There are several judgements on the question of deductibility of expenditure incurred on education of a director’s relative. While some have held the expenditure to be incurred for business purposes, others have held it to be in the nature of personal expenditure. The author has carefully analyzed the judgements and culled out the core principles that need to be borne in mind to ensure that the expenditure is deductible

No practitioner can afford to be unaware of latest judgements & whether experts view the judgement as being right or wrong. Towards that end, the author has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to make an analysis of landmark judgements every quarter. In this part, the author has identified two landmark judgements analyzed them with a critical eye and identified their strengths & shortcomings

The author is irked by the fact that despite severe strictures and clear cut directions by the High Court, the CBDT is not taking any steps to address the problem of non-grant of TDS credit in a case where the deductor/ payer is at fault. He cites several judgements to emphasize that in such cases, the taxpayer/ recipient cannot be denied TDS credit and urges the CBDT to speedily issue suitable directions in the matter