March 2024

In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India definitively settled the controversy regarding whether delayed filing of wealth-tax returns constitutes a continuing offence. The Court, through Justice E.S. Venkataramiah, established that failure to file returns by the statutory due date is a completed default that occurs once when the deadline passes, not a continuing wrong that persists daily. This principle has significant implications for penalty computation under tax laws. The Court meticulously analyzed the legislative history of section 18 of the Wealth Tax Act 1957, distinguishing between substantive default provisions and procedural penalty measures. The decision reinforces that statutory interpretation must favor taxpayers when determining the nature of defaults, unless the legislature explicitly indicates otherwise. This judgment provides crucial guidance for tax professionals on penalty imposition timelines and protects taxpayers from retrospective application of enhanced penalty provisions.

In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India delineated the boundaries of its discretionary appellate jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution in tax matters. The case involved a dealer challenging sales tax assessments under the Bihar Sales Tax Act, 1947, who, after exhausting remedies up to the High Court, sought to appeal directly to the Supreme Court against intermediate orders of the Board of Revenue, bypassing the High Court’s final rulings. The Court, comprising a five-judge bench, firmly rejected this approach, reinforcing that Article 136 is an extraordinary power to be invoked only in exceptional cases with special circumstances, such as substantial injustice or procedural violations. It emphasized the hierarchical structure of tax litigation, where High Court decisions on questions of law are pivotal, and parties cannot ignore them to seek relief from higher courts. This decision underscores the principle of finality in judicial proceedings and cautions against attempts to shortcut established legal processes, setting a precedent for disciplined use of constitutional remedies in tax appeals.

In a landmark ruling on stock valuation, the Supreme Court upheld the Revenue’s authority under Section 145 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to reject an assessee’s accounting method that valued stock-in-trade at raw material cost only, excluding overhead expenditure. The Court reinforced that the Assessing Officer’s duty is to ensure the method discloses true income, applying commercial accounting principles (cost or market price, whichever is lower). Consistency in past practice does not bind the Officer if the method distorts income, as in this case where exclusion of overheads understated profits. This decision underscores the primacy of accurate income computation over business convenience.

In this landmark Supreme Court judgment, the Court established that insurance compensation received for loss of profits under consequential loss policies constitutes taxable income under the Indian Income Tax Act 1922. The Court interpreted ‘income’ broadly under Section 4, holding that such compensation, though replacing lost profits, represents income as it arises from business and is intended to take the place of profits. This decision reinforces the principle that receipts connected to business operations, even from external sources like insurance, are taxable unless specifically exempted, setting a precedent for the treatment of business interruption insurance proceeds.

In Raj Dadarkar & Associates vs. ACIT, the Supreme Court clarified the classification of rental income under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appellant, a partnership firm, acquired long-term leasehold rights to a municipal market, developed it into a shopping centre, and sub-licensed shops/stalls, reporting income as business income. The Revenue reclassified it as income from house property, deeming the appellant owner under Section 27(iiib). The Court upheld this, ruling that despite the firm’s object clause mentioning sub-letting, the activity lacked the systematic organization of a business. The income was derived from property exploitation, not business operations, making it taxable under ‘Income from House Property’. This reinforces the principle that factual context, not mere object clauses, determines income classification, with deemed ownership under Section 27(iiib) being pivotal.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court settles a contentious issue regarding the applicability of Section 80IB(10)(d) of the Income Tax Act to housing projects approved before 31.03.2005 but completed after 01.04.2005. The Court upholds the uniform view of multiple High Courts, decisively ruling that the amendment introducing a 5% commercial area limit is purely prospective. It affirms that developers who secured approvals and commenced construction under the pre-amendment regime retain their entitlement to 100% deduction, irrespective of completion dates post-amendment. The judgment reinforces the principle that vested rights accrued under existing law cannot be extinguished by prospective legislative changes, providing crucial certainty for real estate developers and upholding the doctrine of legitimate expectation in tax jurisprudence.

In this landmark Supreme Court judgment, the Court upheld the denial of a Nil TDS certificate to a non-resident UAE company under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act 1961, emphasizing the limited scope of judicial review in tax withholding matters. The case involved National Petroleum Construction Company, which sought Nil TDS on payments for offshore activities in contracts with ONGC, citing past appellate rulings in its favor. The Court ruled that complex issues like Permanent Establishment (PE) determination and taxability of offshore income under the India-UAE DTAA are factual and must be resolved in regular assessment proceedings, not in summary Section 197 applications. Key legal principles affirmed include: (i) judicial review under Article 226 is restricted to procedural fairness, not substantive merits; (ii) res judicata does not apply in tax assessments, making each year’s tax liability independent; and (iii) concessions made by taxpayers are binding. This decision reinforces the Revenue’s discretion in TDS matters and cautions against relying on past rulings for future years, highlighting the need for annual factual scrutiny in international tax disputes.

In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India settled a contentious issue regarding the applicable law for imposing penalties under section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in cases involving reassessment. The Revenue argued that penalties should be governed by the law in force when returns are filed in response to notices under section 148 (post-1968 amendments, which increased penalties based on concealed income). The Court, however, upheld the assessee’s position, ruling that the law applicable is the one in effect on the date of the original return filing, even if concealment is detected during reassessment. This decision reinforces the principle that penalty proceedings are intrinsically linked to the original act of concealment, preventing anomalies where assessees might otherwise evade penalty. It provides clarity for professionals dealing with penalty cases in reassessment scenarios, emphasizing that the timing of the original return dictates the penalty regime, ensuring fairness and consistency in tax administration.