Two Certainties
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‘Simple and Non-Controversial’: Section 13A, IT Act, 1961
Section 13A was introduced in the IT Act, 1961 via the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1978 (‘1978 Act’) to grant income tax exemption to political parties. The then Minister of Finance, Shri H.M. Patel, introduced Taxation…
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Including Capital Gains within Scope of Income: A Short Note from Tax History
Provisions to tax capital gains in India’s income tax law were first included in 1947. The Act XII(22) of 1947, amended Income Tax Act, 1922 (‘IT Act, 1922’) – predecessor to India’s current income tax statute,…
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No Service Tax on Carried Interest: GST Applicability Remains an Open Question
In a recent decision the Karnataka High Court has held that a Venture Capital Fund (‘VCF’) is not liable for service tax on carried interest. The decision reversed Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal’s (‘CESAT’) ruling which was under…
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Portuguese Civil Code, Income Tax, and Companies Act: Understanding Beneficial Ownership
The Bombay High Court, in a recent judgment, had to unravel the interplay of Portuguese Civil Code, IT Act, 1961, and the Companies Act, 1956 - among other issues - to ascertain the tax liability of assessees.…
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Unfamiliar Terrain of Loyalty Points and GST
Levying GST on atypical forms of consideration is a familiar problem under GST regime. One such problem relates to the levy of GST on vouchers issued by a supplier. While we have a modicum of certainty on the…
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Can Cash be Seized During GST Inspections?
Section 67 of the CGST Act, 2017 deals with powers of inspection, search, and seizure of officers and Section 67(2) specifically empowers the officers carrying out an inspection to seize goods and documents. Courts have arrived…
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State’s Powers to Secure Loans: Kerala-Union Tussle
The State of Kerala (‘Kerala’) recently filed an original suit against the Union of India (‘Union’) alleging that the latter has interfered with its fiscal autonomy by imposing a ceiling limit on its borrowing powers. The issue has…
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Lessons from NAA: Parameters of a Fair Dispute Resolution Body
The experience of transitioning from retail sales tax to VAT laws in 2002-03 provided a learning that a similar transition to GST may be used as a pretext by suppliers to artificially increase the prices of…
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Supply of Vouchers and GST: Three Decisions and a Defensible Conclusion
This article focuses on the issue raised by M/s Kalyan Jewellers Limited (‘Kalyan Jewellers’) as regards the pre-paid instruments (‘PPI’)/vouchers issued by them to their customers. The claim of Kalyan Jewellers before the Advance Authority (‘AAR’), Appellate body for…
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Religious Vows and Income Tax Obligations: Harmony to Clash
The Supreme Court is currently seized of a matter which, at its core, involves determining to what extent do the religious beliefs of a person exempt them from withholding tax obligations under the IT Act, 1961.…
