Promissory Estoppel – Doctrine of estoppel will not be applied against the State in its governmental public or sovereign capacity – Exception where it is necessary to prevent fraud or manifest injustice – Section 174(2)(c) of the CGST Act rescinds earlier tax exemptions – Estoppel cannot operate against legislative functions – Union not bound by 2003 O.M. due to statu...
Constitutional Law – Writ Jurisdiction – High Court’s jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution – Statutory remedy of appeal under Section 46(1) of the MP VAT Act, 2002 – High Court entertained a writ petition against the Assessment Order denying Input rebate despite availability of statutory appeal – Supreme Court held High Court’s decision unsus...
Wealth Tax Act – Valuation of Shares – Respondent-assessee gifted shares under a lock-in period – Shares listed and quoted on stock exchanges but restricted from trading – Tribunal/Court must determine if such shares are "quoted shares" – Supreme Court affirmed shares under lock-in are not "quoted shares" due to lack of regular market transactions ...
Sales Tax – Classification of Product – 'KADIPROL' sold by the respondent categorized by Deputy Commissioner as 'Drug and Medicine' under Entry 26(1) of Schedule II Part A of the GST Act – Tribunal upheld this classification – High Court reversed and categorized it as 'Poultry Feed' under Entry 25 of Schedule I – Supreme Court found merit in Re...
Service Tax – Consulting Engineer vs. Works Contract – Services such as erection, installation, and commissioning of goods at customer sites cannot be classified as consulting engineer services – Tribunal correctly held that such services fall under works contract and are not liable for service tax as consulting engineering – Revenue's appeal dismissed [Paras 2-4].
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Contract Law – Tender Process – Uniform Bidding – GST Rates – High Court directed the appellant to clarify GST rates and HSN codes in the tender document to ensure fair competition – Supreme Court held that no statutory or public duty exists requiring the appellants to indicate the HSN code – Bidder's responsibility to quote correct GST rate [Paras 1-48].
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Service Tax – Sale of Software – The Supreme Court held that once a lumpsum has been charged for the sale of a CD containing antivirus software and sales tax has been paid, the Department cannot levy service tax on the entire sale consideration on the ground that updates are provided – The Court emphasized that the transaction in question amounted to the transfer of the right to ...
Service Tax – Composite Works Contracts – The Supreme Court held that service tax could not be levied on composite works contracts prior to the introduction of the Finance Act, 2007, which amended the Finance Act, 1994, to introduce Section 65(105)(zzzza) – The Court found that the Finance Act, 1994, contained no charge or machinery to levy and assess service tax on indivisible c...
Municipal Tax – Part of Rent – Interpretation – The Supreme Court held that the share of municipal tax due from a tenant, as stipulated under Section 230 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 and Section 5(8) of the West Bengal Premises Tenancy Act, 1997, does not constitute part of the rent of the premises. Instead, it can be recovered as arrears of rent for the purpose...
Kerala Building Tax Act – Exemption for buildings used principally for religious, charitable, or educational purposes – Interpretation of the phrase “charitable purpose” in relation to medical relief – Whether free medical relief is the only form of medical relief that qualifies as a charitable purpose – Previous judgments in SH Medical Centre Hospital v. State ...