Direct Tax Vivad Se Viswas Act , 2020.

S. 2(1)(a) : Declarant – Rejection of declaration – Pendency of writ petition treated as pendency of appeal – Tax arrears – CBDT FAQ/Circular not binding on Court – Declaration under DTVSV Act maintainable – Application directed to be processed. [S. 2(1)(h), 2(1)(j), 2(1)(o), 3, Art. 226]

S. 148A: Reassessment – Conducting inquiry, providing opportunity before issue of notice – Reassessment notice issued after 29.03.2022 by Jurisdictional AO instead of Faceless AO is without jurisdiction and void ab initio- DRP cannot ignore binding jurisdictional High Court ruling in Hexaware Technologies Ltd-Refusal to follow jurisdictional precedent is impermissible- The Court also cautioned the tax authorities that continued disregard of binding jurisdictional precedents may invite contempt action. [S.144C , 147, 148 151A , Art. 226 ].

S. 11 : Property held for charitable purposes – CSR Contributions – Tied-up Grants – CSR contributions received by a charitable trust as an implementing agency, with specific donor restrictions and monitoring, are in the nature of tied-up grants – Delay in filing Form 10 for accumulation is a technical lapse, and where bona fide hardship is shown, such delay deserves condonation in the interest of substantial justice- The Tribunal directed the assessee to seek CBDT condonation and remitted the matter to the AO for fresh consideration. [ S. 2(24)(iia), Form No 10. ]

S. 69 :Unexplained investments -Addition for alleged “on-money” paid for purchase of jewellery solely on the basis of statement of third party and documents found in search of another person, without any incriminating material found in assessee’s search and without corroboration, is unsustainable – Assessee cannot be asked to prove a negative – Addition cannot be made merely on conjectures and surmises. [ S. 132, 132(4), 153A ]

S. 263 : Commissioner – Revision of orders prejudicial to revenue –
Charitable trust – Limited scrutiny – Payments to specified persons u/s 13(3) – AO having made detailed enquiries and accepted explanation, PCIT cannot set aside assessment merely for “further verification” without himself recording how order is erroneous – Inadequate enquiry is not enough – PCIT must establish error by own enquiry – Revision quashed. [ S. 12A, 13(3) , 142(1) ]

S. 151 : Reassessment – Sanction for issue of notice – After the expiry of four years – Sanction u/s 151 was issued by CIT( E ) instead of joint Commissioner -Wrong authority – Effect of TOLA-Relying on Rajeev Bansal order reassessment notice and consequential order was quashed . [S. 147,148, 151(2) , TOLA, 2020 , Art. 226 ]

Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020:

S. 3 : the Amount payable by declarant-Benefit of VsV scheme cannot be denied for marginal delay and resultant shortfall where such delay is attributable to revenue’s errors and portal glitches. [S. 5, Art. 226]

Black Money Act, 2015,

S. 50 : Punishment for failure to furnish return-Issuance of process-Inquiry under S. 202(1) of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 mandatory where accused resides outside Magistrate’s jurisdiction-Court quashed the order and remanded the matter to the Magistrate for fresh consideration after complying with the procedure laid down in Section 202(1) of the Criminal Procedure [S 200 & 202(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, 200, 202(1)]

S. 276C : Offences and prosecutions-Wilful attempt to evade tax-Deletion of penalty by Tribunal-Criminal prosecution based on same facts not sustainable and is liable to be quashed. [S. 271(1)(c), 277, 278B, 278E]