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DATE: January 13, 2021 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: January 14, 2021 (Date of publication)
AY: AY 2019-20
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Extension of due date for filing ROI: (i) The CBDT has vide order dated 11.01.2021 decided not to grant further extension of time. The Court cannot go into the issues which weighed with the CBDT in taking the decision and substitute the same with its own view. Interference by the Court, at this point of time, in matters relating to the Revenue may have far reaching implications. It may upset the entire functioning of the Government and may lead to undesirable results. (ii) However, the CBDT may consider issuing an appropriate circular taking a lenient view as regards the consequences of late filing of the Tax Audit Reports as provided u/s 271B of the Act. We leave it to the better discretion of the CBDT.

It is the case of the CBDT that it has declined to exercise its power under Section 119 of the Act as the conditions for exercise of such power do not exist. It is the case of the Revenue that the issue of hardship was dealt with considerably at the relevant point of time and that is the reason why three times the time limit came to be extended. The Board has now thought fit in the interest of the Revenue not to extend the time period any further. There are so many vital issues which the Revenue needs to keep in mind before taking such decision. The question is whether this Court should go into all such issues which weighed with the CBDT in taking a particular decision one way or the other and substitute the same with that of this Court on the ground that if the time limit is not extended, then the people at large would be put immense hardships? Interference at the end of this Court, at this point of time, in the matters relating to the Revenue may have far reaching implications. This Court may find it very easy to issue a writ of mandamus, as prayed for, saying that if the time limit has been extended in the past on three occasions, then why not for one last time upto 31st March 2021. However, such a line of reasoning or approach may upset the entire functioning of the Government and may lead to undesirable results.

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DATE: January 8, 2021 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: January 9, 2021 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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Though the CBDT has extended the due dates for filing the ITR & TAR to 10.01.2021 & 15.02.2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, it should look into the question of further extension bearing in mind that the time period for the officials of the tax department has been extended upto 31.03.2021. Some extension deserves to be considered in accordance with law.

We are of the view that the respondent No.1 – Union of India, Ministry of Finance should immediately look into the issue, more particularly, the representation dated 12th October 2020 at Annexure : I of the paper book (page 108) and take an appropriate decision at the earliest in accordance with law. We, accordingly, direct the respondent No.1 to do so. While taking an appropriate decision, the Union shall bear in mind the observations made by this High Court in the two above noted judgements, more particularly, the observations of the Supreme Court in the case of Vaghjibhai S. Bishnoi (supra) that the powers given to the CBDT are beneficial in nature to be exercised for proper administration of fiscal law so that undue hardship may not be caused to the taxpayers. The purpose is of just, proper and efficient management of the work of assessment and the public interest. One additional aspect needs to be kept in mind before taking any appropriate decision that the time period for the officials of the tax department has been extended upto 31st March 2021 having regard to the current covid19 pandemic situation. If that be so, then some extension deserves to be considered in accordance with law. Let an appropriate decision be taken by 12th January 2021.

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DATE: February 3, 2020 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: September 21, 2020 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08, 2008-09
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Transfer Pricing: (i) The OECD guidelines recognise that barring exceptional cases, the tax administration should not disregard the actual transaction or substitute other transactions for them. The examination of a controlled transaction should ordinarily be based on the transaction as it has been actually undertaken and structured by the associated enterprises. The guidelines discourage restructuring of legitimate business transactions (ii) The finding by the Tribunal regarding the adoption of TNMM as the Most Appropriate Method of arriving at ALP cannot be termed as perverse or contrary to the evidence on record. Difference of opinion as to the appropriateness of one or the other method cannot be gone into in a s. 260A appeal

The significance of the aforesaid guidelines lies in the fact that they recognise that barring exceptional cases, the tax administration should not disregard the actual transaction or substitute other transactions for them and the examination of a controlled transaction should ordinarily be based on the transaction as it has been actually undertaken and structured by the associated enterprises. It is of further significance that the guidelines discourage restructuring of legitimate business transactions. The reason for characterisation of such restructuring as an arbitrary exercise, as given in the guidelines, is that it has the potential to create double taxation if the other tax administration does not share the same view as to how the transaction should be structured.

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DATE: September 27, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: October 25, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2004-05
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S. 2(15)/11 "Charitable Purpose": The fact that the carrying on of charitable activities results in a surplus does not mean that assessee exists for profit. “Profit” means that owners have a right to withdraw the surplus for any purpose including personal purpose. However, if the surplus is ploughed back into the same charitable activities, the assessee cannot be said to be carrying out commercial activities in the nature of trade, commerce or business. The fact that the assessee has dealings with, & share of profits from, BCCI (a commercial entity) does not affect its charitable status

It is not in dispute that the three Associations have not distributed any profits outside the organization. The profits, if any, are ploughed back into the very activities of promotion and development of the sport of cricket and, therefore, the assessees cannot be termed to be carrying out commercial activities in the nature of trade, commerce or business.(iii) It is not correct to say that as the assessees received share of income from the BCCI, their activities could be said to be the activities of the BCCI. Undoubtedly, the activities of the BCCI are commercial in nature. The activities of the BCCI is in the form of exhibition of sports and earn profit out of it.However, if the Associations host any international match once in a year or two at the behest of the BCCI, then the income of the Associations from the sale of tickets etc., in such circumstances, would not portray the character of commercial nature

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DATE: August 14, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 17, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 1998-99
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Low Tax Effect Appeals: Though CBDT Circular dated 8th August 2019, enhancing the monetary limits for Dept appeals, states that the "modifications shall come into effect from the date of issue of the Circular", it must be interpreted to mean that the enhanced limits apply not only to appeals to be filed in future but also to appeals pending for disposal as on now. It is an appreciable goodwill gesture by the Govt, for so many taxpayers, on the eve of this Independence Day and offering them freedom from the prolonged mental agony and uncertainty of litigation

The circular was issued on Thursday the 8th August 2019, and within two working days and the long weekend, today on 14th August 2019, all the appeals stand disposed of. It’s only a team effort and whole hearted cooperation of all the stakeholders that can enable us to so speedily implement taxpayer friendly initiatives of the Government of India. The taxpayer relief involved in these appeals, including interest and the other corollaries, is estimated to be well over Rs 350 crores. The lead case before us is an appeal filed over fifteen years ago by the Income Tax Officer and it deals with an assessment year which pertains to the period over twenty years ago. Yet, the matter had not reached the finality and the revenue’s challenge to the relief granted by the Commissioner (Appeals) had remained undecided. That is nothing but prolonged agony of uncertainty to the taxpayers. It is indeed an appreciable goodwill gesture by the Government, for so many taxpayers, on the eve of this Independence Day and offering them freedom from the prolonged mental agony and uncertainty of litigation

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DATE: April 3, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: April 6, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
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S. 254(2)/ 271(1)(c): Though the High Court faulted the Tribunal's decision of reducing the penalty as a "way to bypass the minimum limit" and the Tribunal was in error in granting the relief, the same does not constitute a "mistake apparent from the record" so as to enable the Tribunal to revisit its decision

The observations of Hon’ble High Court, disapproving the conclusions, are based on the proposition that the conclusion of the Tribunal was a way to bypass the minimum limit. That is, with respect, a wholly a highly subjective observation and all a matter of perception. The other way of looking at the conclusions of the Tribunal could possibly be, and that’s how we looked at it, that the explanation of the assessee was partly accepted and, as regards the element of income on which explanation was not accepted, the penalty was still one hundred percent of tax sought to be evaded. It was stated to be accepted past history of the case, as pleaded before the Tribunal, that all the cash deposits were not of income nature but in the nature of business receipts and that only income embedded therein could be brought to tax. Wrongly though, as we have learnt the hard way, we were in error in following the same path for the purpose of evaluating explanation extended before the Tribunal during the hearing, but then this was not altogether devoid of any basis or rationale. The rationale or basis of our approach has turned out to be incorrect but it clearly did exist. In any event, it was not something which was incapable of two opinions

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DATE: February 8, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: March 23, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2013-14
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Non-taxable capital receipt vs. Business Profits: Test of human probabilities has to be applied to decide whether what is apparent is real. Tax authorities are not required to put on blinkers while looking at documents. They are entitled to look into the surrounding circumstances to find out the reality. The agreement has to make commercial sense. The plea that "coining of concept" is a valuable right worth Rs. 10 cr is too naive & beyond human probabilities to merit judicial acceptance

“Coining of” the concept was in the course of the employment of the assessee, and, therefore, the plea that it belonged to the assessee, in his individual capacity, is too naïve to meet any judicial approval. In any case, there is no material on record to demonstrate that this coining of concept is such a valuable asset that it could fetch Rs 10 crores of consideration on a standalone basis, and, if that was so, it is simply beyond the human probabilities that such a valuable right could be given to someone for 7 years for commercial exploitation and development, with no strings attached, and without even finalizing as to how the fruits of such commercial exploitation will be shared by that person with the owner of this concept.

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DATE: June 21, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 23, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2013-14, 2014-15
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S. 90(2) DTAA: The failure to submit a 'Tax Residency Certificate' (TRC) as required by s.90(4) is not a bar to the grant of benefits under the DTAA. However, the assessee is required to produce reasonable evidence of the entitlement of the foreign entity to benefits under the DTAA

Section 90(4), in the absence of a non-obstante clause, cannot be read as a limitation to the treaty superiority under Section 90(2), we are of the considered view that an eligible assessee cannot be declined the treaty protection under section 90(2) on the ground that the said assessee has not been able to furnish a Tax Residency Certificate in the prescribed form. De hors the statutory provision under Section 90(4), the assessee has to satisfy his eligibility for treaty protection nevertheless and the onus of satisfying the same by any other mode, i.e. other than a TRC, appears to be much more demanding than furnishing of a TRC. To be entitled for Indo US tax treaty benefits in India, a foreign enterprise has to establish that it is a resident of the other contracting state, i.e. the United States

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DATE: January 23, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: January 24, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2012-13
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Transfer Pricing: Important law explained on whether termination of Option rights under an agreement can be treated as a "deemed international transaction" under section 92B(2) of the Act read with Rule 10B (4) in the light of the judgements in Vodafone's own cases of the Supreme Court (341 ITR 1) and the Bombay High Court (385 ITR 169).

When we interpose the aforesaid statutory definition in Section 92C(1), we find that the expression ‘international transaction’ means “an arrangement, understanding or action in concert etc between two or more associated enterprises, either or both of whom are non-residents, in the nature of purchase, sale or lease of tangible or intangible property, or provision of services, or lending or borrowing money, or any other an arrangement, understanding or action in concert having a bearing on the profits, income, losses or assets of such enterprises ……..”. Therefore, in order to ascertain whether a particular transaction or not is an international transaction or not, the necessary preconditions which are to be satisfied are (a) that it is in the nature “an arrangement, understanding or action in concert etc”; (b) that it is between two or more associated enterprises, either or both of whom are non-residents; and (c) that it has a bearing on the profits, income, losses or assets of such enterprises

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DATE: September 26, 2017 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: October 4, 2017 (Date of publication)
AY: 2008-09
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S. 140A/ 221(1): Law explained on whether an assessee who defaults on paying self assessment tax u/s 140A while filing the return of income is liable for penalty u/s 221(1) if he files a revised return of income and pays the tax thereon at the time of filing the revised return of income

As a plain reading of the above statutory provisions would show, the lapse, referred to in section 140A(1), is the failure “to pay such (admitted) tax together with interest payable under any provision of this Act for any delay in furnishing the return or any default or delay in payment of advance tax, before furnishing the return” and the lapses punishable under section 221(1) are the lapses in respect of “default in making a payment of tax”. The default triggering the penal liability under section 221(1) is the default in making payment of tax, and that the default in payment is tax is with reference to the filing of the income tax return. Viewed thus, default is committed at the point of time when a return of income is filed without making payment of the admitted tax liability. Clearly, therefore, the assessee committed a default in not paying the admitted tax liability when it filed the original income tax return, without payment of admitted tax liability, on 30th September 2008. To this extent, there is no dispute or ambiguity at all.The question then arises as to what is the impact of filing a revised income tax return

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