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… Read More »Service Charge, its Similarity with Tax, and a ‘Double Whammy’ for Consumers: Some Thoughts
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… Read More »Fraudulent Sale is Supply Under GST: Three Errors of the Advance Ruling
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… Read More »Legislative Intent or Error: Puzzle of Indian Tax Policy
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… Read More »When A Princess Worried About Tax on Alimony
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,… Read More »Tax Privacy: To Begin a Conversation …
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… Read More »Powers of Arrest under CGST Act, 2017 and Customs Act, 1962: Constitutionality and their Scope
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… Read More »Long Wait for GSTATs: July 2017 … and Counting.
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… Read More »Income Tax Bill, 2025: In Search of a Big Idea
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… Read More »Skeletal Timeline of Income Tax Reform in India
Tax law, especially Indian tax law discussions are far too often contained by self-sustaining logic of statutory provisions and case laws. Tax lawyers, including me, feel validated and satisfied having decoded a particular judgment or… Read More »Why Should Tax Lawyers Care About the Annual Budget?