Author: Rav Singh
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Liquidation After Approval of Resolution Plan: The IBC Faces Tough Challenges
The Supreme Court within a span of few months delivered two judgments – State Bank of India & Ors v The Consortium of Mr. Murari Lal Jalan and Mr. Florian Fritsch & Anr (Jet Airways) and Kalyani Transco v…
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Service Charge, its Similarity with Tax, and a ‘Double Whammy’ for Consumers: Some Thoughts
Introduction The Delhi High Court (‘High Court’) recently ruled that levy of mandatory service charge by restaurants violates customer rights. The High Court’s reasoning, anchored in consumer protection laws, termed a mandatory service charge as deceptive and misleading…
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Fraudulent Sale is Supply Under GST: Three Errors of the Advance Ruling
A recent advance ruling by Gujarat AAR is a frustrating read. AAR held that sale by a seller constitutes as supply under GST laws even if the seller was defrauded and did not receive any consideration for such…
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Legislative Intent or Error: Puzzle of Indian Tax Policy
Introductory Questions Let me start with a question: how does one discover legislative intent in a provision of tax statute? Through a plain reading of the provision or through a subsequent statement by the State’s legal…
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When A Princess Worried About Tax on Alimony
All things in life have a tax angle, including alimony payments. In this article I elaborate on tax treatment of alimony payments under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act, 1961’). Upfront, these are the three…
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Tax Privacy: To Begin a Conversation …
Income tax law is based on disclosing information to the State. Personal financial information. Bank account statements, investments, salary receipts, rent paid or received, medical expenses, money transferred to spouse, expenses of children, insurance premiums, political…
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Powers of Arrest under CGST Act, 2017 and Customs Act, 1962: Constitutionality and their Scope
The Supreme Court in a recent judgment upheld the constitutionality of arrest-related provisions contained in Customs Act, 1962 and CGST Act, 2017. The Court also elaborated on the scope of arrest powers under CGST Act, 2017 and safeguards…
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Long Wait for GSTATs: July 2017 … and Counting.
GSTATs have been envisaged as the first appellate forum under GST laws. And yet, 7.5 years since implementation of GST, not a single GSTAT is functioning. Reason? Many. Some are easy to identify, others are tough…
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Income Tax Bill, 2025: In Search of a Big Idea
The Department of Revenue claims that Income Tax Bill, 2025 - tabled in the Parliament on 13 February 2025 - marks a significant step towards simplifying the language and structure of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Does it?…
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Skeletal Timeline of Income Tax Reform in India
1860-1886: Income tax was introduced in India for the first time in 1860 to overcome the financial difficulties due to First War of Independence of 1857. The period of 1860-1886 saw the Govt alternating between income…
