Service Tax - unconditional exemption to services consumed within the SEZ without following the refund route;

The PM's Economic Advisory Council Members and Chairperson put in their papers;

President appoints Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Janakray Chandubhai Upadhyaya as full time judges of Delhi and Gujarat High Court respectively;

Kai Sang, CIT(A) Bilaspur of 1982 Batch, IRS, dies in harness;

CBDT collects about Rs.8000 Crore FBT last fiscal;

Iran 'holding back flood of heroin' from Afghanistan: UN;

Competition Act: Govt notifies provisions related to abuse of dominant position + Competition Appellate Tribunal, headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat;

Dr Manmohan Singh invited by Rashtrapati Bhawan to take oath on Friday;

India and Brazil to synergize energies to boost up bilateral trade;

Sharp growth in import of edible oil legs up jump in import of sensitive items;

Nepal: Senior UN official lauds supreme court reforms;

TIOL COMMENTARY

ddt 21 May.pdf

Summons under Central Excise - Presence of a Lawyer;

cobweb.pdf

Dr Singh, 100-day agenda is fine but what India needs is long-term policy framework for sustained growth;

MIXED BUZZ

mbuzz0501.pdf

CBDT collects about Rs.8000 Crore FBT last fiscal;

mbuzz0500.pdf

Iran 'holding back flood of heroin' from Afghanistan: UN;

mbuzz0499.pdf

India and Brazil to synergize energies to boost up bilateral trade;

mbuzz0498.pdf

Sharp growth in import of edible oil legs up jump in import of sensitive items;

mbuzz0497.pdf

Nepal: Senior UN official lauds supreme court reforms;

Peoples Political Front Vs UoI, New Delhi (Dated: April 17, 2009)

PIL - Writ - Petitioner seeks direction to Union Government to disclose the correspondence between Prime Minister and BJP leader on tax haven and the sum deposited in Swiss Banks by Ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public functionaries and steps taken to reover the money kept in tax havens - held, forum of judicial review is not for redressal of such grievance - relief sought in the PIL is not fit to be granted - cost awarded:ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-256-HC-MUM-IT.pdf + ajanta story.pdf

CIT, Mumbai Vs M/s Ajanta Pharma Ltd (Dated: May 7, 2009)

IT – Deduction under Section 115 JB for MAT companies – 80% deduction under Section 80HHC correct - SYNCOME FORMULATIONS Ltd . - 2007-TIOL-96-ITAT-MUM-SB overruled: The language used in section 115JB is deduction available under section 80 HHC . It is difficult to conceive of any rational reason as to why the legislature should have thought to give MAT companies additional benefits than the other companies who are paying tax on total income and not the tax based on book profit as calculated under section 115JB . Is it possible to conceive of any degree of fairness and/or justice that MAT companies, who for some periods were denied the benefit of section 80 HHC , because of the introduction of section 115( JB ) Explanation 1 (iv) are entitled to have their entire export profits reduced. The object of section 15JB or for that matter section 115J or 115 JA was to impose tax on those companies which otherwise considering various exemptions or deductions available under the Act, though making huge profits and paying large dividends were not paying any tax. It is therefore, not possible to accept the construction as sought to be advanced on behalf of the assessee, that they should be treated on a different footing in computing export profits under Section 80HHC , for the purpose of Section 115JB .:BOMBAY HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-255-HC-AHM-IT.pdf

LMP Precision Engg Co Ltd Vs DCIT (Dated: March 3, 2009)

Income tax - Penalty u/s 271(1)(c) - Assessee revises returns for three AYs and discloses huge income - Notice u/s 148 - Additions made and tax paid - Penalty proceedings initiated - Tribunal upholds the penalty but reduces the maximum penalty to minimum - held, going by the facts of the case that the assessee revises its returns only after a Survey was conducted by the Revenue and a follow-up action with the companies which had raised bills for purchases was taken. It clearly establishes that merely because a return is revised that fact by itself cannot lead to any presumption as to concealment in the original return of income, because legislature itself has provided for furnishing a revised return in case of any omission in the original return. Albeit such omission has to be inadvertent and bonafide. If the omission is intentional the revised return cannot absolve an assessee. The fact that the department has initiated certain inquiries per-se would not be sufficient to treat the revised return as not being voluntary. This would depend on facts of each case considering the stage at which the investigation has progressed, the subject matter of investigation by the department, and the evidence available in the course of such investigation. However, overall findings of the Tribunal in relation to each AY clearly show that the returns were not filed voluntarily and there is no infirmity in the Tribunal's order - Assessee's appeal dismissed:GUJARAT HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-308-ITAT-RANCHI.pdf

Research Institute Vs CIT, Ranchi (Dated: February 13, 2009)

Income Tax - Section 12AA - Revenue on the basis of provisions of the trust deed contends that trust cannot be said to be constituted for genuine charitable work - Assessee contends that  following the rule of consistency the Revenue should have allowed it to continue the registration u/s.12AA  when there is no change in the facts and circumstances of the case - Held, in view of the  decision of the Delhi High Court in DIT (E) Vs. Escorts Cardiac Diasease Hospitality Society   in respect of rule of consistency, CIT(A) order set aside and directed to continue the registration u/s.12AA - Assessee Appeal allowed. :RANCHI ITAT;

SERVICE TAX SECTION

NOTIFICATION

stnot09_015.pdf

Service Tax - unconditional exemption to services consumed within the SEZ without following the refund route;

CIRCULAR

sercir114.pdf

Refund of service tax paid on taxable services taxable services which are provided in relation to the authorised operations in a Special Economic Zone – Reg.;

CASE LAWS

2009-TIOL-78-SC-ST.pdf

M/s Zodiac Advertisers Vs CCE & CC, Cochin (Dated: April 2, 2009)

Service Tax – records not produced to show nature of work – remanded to Tribunal – assessee to pay Rs. 10,000 cost to the Department :SUPREME COURT;

2009-TIOL-790-CESTAT-MUM.pdf + Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd Story.pdf

Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd Vs CCE, Aurangabad (Dated: April 6, 2009)

Cenvat Credit – Garden Maintenance Service has no nexus, even remotely, to manufacture or clearance of excisable goods, hence cannot be called Input Service – Tribunal.

Stay granted earlier [See 2008-TIOL-1581-CESTAT-Mum] :MUMBAI CESTAT;

CENTRAL EXCISE SECTION

2009-TIOL-788-CESTAT-BANG.pdf

Sirpur Paper Mills Ltd VsCCE, Hyderabad (Dated: February 24, 2009)

Central Excise - Whether the activity carried out in the depot or in the job workers place, is at the behest of the customer or not has to be considered from the evidences available on record - Pre-deposit ordered - CESTAT.:BANGALORE CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-787-CESTAT-MAD.pdf

CCE, Tirunelveli Vs M/s Digvijay Polytex Pvt Ltd (Dated: February 2, 2009)

Central Excise – CENVAT – Capital Goods – Removal as such – Demand – Limitation - Extended Period - When used capital goods are removed the credit initially availed has to be reversed by the assessee. In view of the fact that the respondents had intimated particulars of payment of duty on removal of the capital goods in their monthly return, the allegation of suppression of fact cannot be held to have been substantiated. Therefore, the demand is barred by limitation. (Para 3) :CHENNAI CESTAT;

2009-TIOL-786-CESTAT-MUM.pdf

M/s Aparna Udyog Vs CCE, Pune-I (Dated: February 11, 2009)

Scrap value is includible in the assessable value of the goods supplied by the job workers to the principal manufacturers – No prima facie case in view of Apex Court decision in General Engineering Works [ 2005-TIOL-187-SC-CX ] and Mahindra Ugine Steel Co. Ltd. ( 2007-TIOL-1225-CESTAT-Mum ) - Pre-deposit ordered.:MUMBAI CESTAT;

CUSTOMS SECTION

Customs - Confiscation of Gold – Adjudication order not received by the petitioner – appeals dismissed on limitation – Department has not proved that the order was properly served – directed to adjudicate the case on merits :MADRAS HIGH COURT;

2009-TIOL-789-CESTAT-DEL.pdf

Shri Rajiv Rana Vs CC, New Delhi (Dated: January 9, 2009)

Customs – Goods declared for export different from actual consignment – Person dealing with the business of Customs clearance whether with or without licence to take basic precaution of checking contents of consignment received for clearance – Penalty imposed under s. 114 (iii) upheld :DELHI CESTAT;