June 2024

In this landmark Estate Duty case, the Supreme Court delivered a decisive ruling on the anti-avoidance provision under section 10 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953. The Court held that for a gifted property to escape estate duty, the donor must be factually entirely excluded from possession and enjoyment, irrespective of whether such possession is based on a legally enforceable right. The mere continuation of residence by the donor in the gifted property, even as a family head relying on filial ties, constitutes non-exclusion, making the property deemed to pass on death. The judgment clarifies that the ‘entire exclusion’ test under the first limb of section 10 is strict and factual, not merely legal, reinforcing the revenue’s ability to tax gifts where economic enjoyment remains with the donor. The Court also distinguished foreign precedents and affirmed that legislative amendments are not retrospective aids to interpretation.

In this landmark Supreme Court judgment, the Court addressed the interplay between retrospective tax amendments and the rectification power under Section 35 of the Income Tax Act. The Revenue successfully appealed against the Bombay High Court’s decision, establishing that when a retrospective amendment changes the legal position from a past date, any assessment order inconsistent with the amended law constitutes a ‘mistake apparent from the record’ rectifiable under Section 35. The Court emphasized that legal fiction of retrospectivity requires imagining the amended law as always existing, making prior orders erroneous if they deviate from it. This decision reinforces the principle that rectification power extends to mistakes of law revealed by retrospective legislation, ensuring assessments align with the law as retrospectively amended, subject to procedural safeguards under Section 35.

In a landmark ruling on the interpretation of section 64(1)(i) of the Income Tax Act 1961, the Supreme Court resolved a conflict between High Courts by holding that the term ‘income’ in this anti-avoidance provision encompasses ‘loss’. The case involved an assessee seeking to carry forward his wife’s share of loss from a partnership firm where both were partners. The Court, affirming the Tribunal’s decision, relied on a 1944 CBDT circular, a 1979 legislative amendment (Explanation 2 to section 64), and the binding precedent in CIT vs. J.H. Gotla. This decision ensures equitable treatment by allowing the set-off and carry-forward of a spouse’s partnership loss against the assessee’s income, preventing tax arbitrage where liability would otherwise alternate based on annual profit/loss outcomes. The ruling underscores a purposive interpretation to uphold the legislative intent behind aggregation provisions.

In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India clarifies the retrospective application of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988. The Court upholds the principles established in R. Rajagopala Reddy vs. Padmini Chandrasekharan (1995), confirming that pleas of benami raised in suits filed before 19th May, 1988, remain adjudicable in pending proceedings. The decision meticulously distinguishes Nand Kishore Mehra vs. Sushila Mehra (1995), emphasizing that it addresses exceptions under the Act for transactions involving wives or unmarried daughters, rather than contradicting prior jurisprudence. This ruling provides critical guidance on the Act’s transitional provisions, ensuring legal certainty for pending benami disputes while affirming the statutory framework’s integrity. For tax professionals, this underscores the importance of timing in benami claims and the nuanced interplay between procedural and substantive law in Indian taxation and property disputes.

In this landmark ITAT Chandigarh ruling, the Tribunal bifurcated the issues of reassessment validity and substantive addition under Section 68. It validated reassessment initiated via Investigation Wing intelligence on accommodation entries, emphasizing that factual reports (not mere interpretations) can found ‘reason to believe’ under Section 147 if the AO applies independent mind. However, on merits, the Tribunal robustly upheld the assessee’s discharge of burden under Section 68 for share application money, citing exhaustive documentation proving the ‘three pillars’—identity, genuineness, and creditworthiness of subscribers. The decision reinforces that where an assessee provides concrete evidence, the onus shifts to the Revenue to disprove it, and failure to investigate subscribers cannot justify addition. The appeal was partly allowed: reassessment upheld but addition deleted.

In a pivotal ruling on wealth tax valuation methodology, the Supreme Court clarified the discretionary nature of Section 7(2)(a) of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. The case involved valuation of a cinema building owned by a partnership firm. The assessees argued that for a running business, the income capitalisation method under Section 7(2)(a) was compulsory. The Revenue contended the WTO had discretion to use the land and building method under Section 7(1). The Court, interpreting Section 7 holistically, held that Section 7(2)(a) is an enabling provision, granting the WTO the option—not the obligation—to value business assets as a whole based on balance sheets. The WTO’s reference to a Valuation Officer under Section 7(3) constituted a valid exercise of discretion to adopt the land and building method. This judgment reinforces the Assessing Officer’s flexibility in selecting appropriate valuation methods based on facts, ensuring the Act’s provisions are applied harmoniously without mandating a one-size-fits-all approach.

In this landmark service tax judgment, the Supreme Court definitively settled that photographic processing businesses constitute pure service contracts under the Finance Act 1994. The Court upheld the constitutional validity of taxing gross receipts (excluding only unexposed film costs), rejecting arguments for bifurcation between goods and services components. This decision reinforces the binding precedent of Rainbow Colour Lab and affirms that post-46th Amendment considerations don’t apply to service tax on photographic services. The judgment provides crucial clarity for the photography industry and establishes that service tax applies comprehensively to the entire value of photographic services rendered.

In this landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India delineated the critical distinction between commercial accounting principles under section 13 of the Income Tax Act 1922 and the statutory fiction created for taxation under section 10(2)(vii). The Revenue appealed against the exclusion of insurance compensation for fire-destroyed capital assets from the assessment year 1949-50, arguing accrual under mercantile accounting. The Court upheld the assessee’s position, ruling that the deeming provision under the fourth proviso to section 10(2)(vii) is a self-contained fiction that taxes compensation as profit only in the year of actual receipt, not accrual. This decision reinforces the principle that statutory fictions cannot be expanded by importing accounting concepts unless expressly provided, safeguarding taxpayers from premature taxation on notional income.