'n-Hexane' Not 'Motor Spirt' For Customs Duty : Supreme Court Dismisses Revenue Appeal Against Reliance Industries

The Supreme Court has observed that the imported product 'n-hexane', mainly used in making chemicals or extracting vegetable oils, could not be classified as a petroleum product/motor fuel, to attract lower duty, merely because it has a low flash point. Dismissing the Custom Department's appeal, a bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale granted relief to Reliance Industries Ltd. while upholding the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) decision to...

Supreme Court Surprised Over Vacancies In ITAT Administrative Staff, Seeks Attorney General's Intervention

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed surprise over the large number of vacancies in the administrative staff of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunals (ITAT) and sought the intervention of the Attorney General for India to ensure that the posts are filled at the earliest.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a writ petition filed by Praveen Kumar Bansal concerning the longstanding vacancies in the tribunal's administrative setup.Senior...

Interim Profits In CIRP: EBITDA Allocation Dilemma

The major headline from the Supreme Court's decision to restore JSW Steel's resolution plan for Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) on 26 September 2025, was the rescue of a ₹19,350 crore acquisition that the same court had set aside five months earlier.Another issue that came to the forefront but gained little traction was the consequential question: Who is entitled to the EBITDA...

When Can Re-Assessment Be Opened U/s 147, 148 of Income Tax Act? Supreme Court Explains

While dealing with a tax case related to development of a housing project, the Supreme Court recently elucidated the position of law pertaining to reopening of assessments under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan referred to Section 147 (pre-2012) and Section 148 (pre-2006) of the IT Act and observed that power to reopen assessment is...

Reliance's Supply Of Gas From KG Basin To UP Is Inter-State Sale; VAT Not Applicable : Supreme Court

The Court held that the transaction came within the Central Sales Tax Act.

S.167 B(2) IT Act | Fixed Share Given To Member Of 'Association Of Persons' Regardless Of Profit Will Be Taxed As Income : Supreme Court

In an important ruling on a tax law, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 12) held that a member receiving a fixed percentage of gross receipts from an Association of Persons (AOP), without bearing business expenses or losses, cannot claim such receipts as a "share of profit” to claim exemption from income tax.It is worthwhile to mention that taxation of members in an Association of Persons...

Based On Finance Act 2026, Supreme Court Sets Aside HC Verdicts That JAOs Can't Issue IT Reassessment Notices

The Court remitted the matters to the High Courts for fresh consideration.

Death Of "Paper Shield": Re-Evaluating CA Certificates In Indian Construction Arbitration

For decades, the Indian construction arbitration landscape has been dominated by a convenient fiction: the "Certificate Culture." Claimants, faced with the daunting task of proving voluminous damages for idling, overheads, or loss of profit, have historically relied on a single sheet of paper, a Chartered Accountant (CA) certificate, as a proxy for thousands of pages of primary...

Agricultural Land Under Valuation Rules, 2017: Who Is Qualified To Value What Law Forgot?

India holds millions of hectares of land within the corporate asset portfolios, yet the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017, which govern the entire framework for valuation of company assets, are silent about how the agricultural lands are to be valued, who is qualified to value them, and whether they fall within any prescribed asset class. This silence constitutes not just...

Kerala Agriculture Income Tax | Amalgamating Company's Loss Can't Be Set-Off From Income Of Amalgamated Company : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has observed that a loss suffered by an amalgamating company cannot be set off against the income of an amalgamated company upon amalgamation unless permitted by a statute. A bench of Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Vijay Bishnoi dismissed a batch of appeals filed against the Kerala High Court's judgment, which declined the plea for setting off a loss of the...

Situs Of Office; Cyber-Freezes And Jurisdictional Trap

In the digital age, money moves in milliseconds across state borders, but the legal remedies for innocent account holders remain shackled to physical geography. As India pushes for "Digital Inclusion," a parallel and dangerous "Financial Exclusion" is occurring. Investigating agencies, in their zeal to trace "proceeds of crime," are using a borderless digital trail to impose a medieval form...

Tax Searches, Digital Data And Privacy Concerns

The Ministry of Finance has issued a notification on the Income-tax Rules, 2026 on March 20, 2026. The Rules will come into effect on April 1, 2026. The Rules were framed under the Income-tax Act, 2025, and they implement search and seizure powers provided in Section 247. As we approach a new system, an extension of search and seizure powers in the digital sphere sparks an...