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

The author, an eminent columnist, is irked that instead of taking steps to recover the tax of Rs. 19,000 crore that Vodafone sought to evade by adopting unfair means, the Government is actually thinking of sparing Vodafone of that liability. He argues that the Government is acting out of the misplaced fear that being firm with tax dodgers will prove detrimental to the Country. Instead, the Country will benefit if tax is recovered from Vodafone, he says

Ex-Chief Justice of India S. H. Kapadia is a man of immense wisdom and learning and is not afraid of speaking his mind. He comes clear on the Vodafone amnesty controversy, GAAR and the problems plaguing the Indian tax administration today and offers valuable suggestions on how to resolve them

Hon’ble Finance Minister Shri. P. Chidambaram deserves to be complimented for his sensitive and proactive stance towards tax payers. Being a top-notch professional himself, he is reputed to carefully go through the representations sent to him by professional bodies and to implement most of them despite the economic and political compulsions that come in the way. We are confident that he will not disappoint this time

The author argues that the order of “interim suspension” directed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the judgement of the Special Bench in Merilyn Shipping 146 TTJ 1 does not impact the binding character of the judgement. He contends that the suspension applies only vis-a-vis the parties to that case and does not have general application to other assessees. He makes good his submission by reference to several case law

Justice Swatanter Kumar (Retd)
Justice Swatanter Kumar, who was party to the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court in Vodafone International vs. UOI 341 ITR 1, bluntly says that the primary reason for tax avoidance in India is the complexity in its tax laws and the unfriendly nature of its administration. He urges the Government to focus on simplification of the law and improvement of the tax administration and offers suggestions on how this can be done

Shri. H. L. Karwa was a leading High Court Advocate before his elevation to the Bench. He uses his rich experience as an Advocate and as a Judge to pinpoint a few techniques that Lawyers & Chartered Accountants should adopt while arguing matters before the Tribunal so that they are able to convey their point more effectively to the Bench. He also sends the gentle reminder that more Professionals should join the Bench

The author, an eminent advocate, has meticulously explained the entire law relating to the stay and recovery of tax arrears. After from a reference to a plethora of judgements to support every proposition, the author has drawn from his rich practical experience to explain the points that should be emphasized in a stay application so as to get a favourable verdict from the assessing and appellate authorities