In an important ruling, ITAT Pune deleted a ₹10.52 lakh addition based solely on WhatsApp chats recovered from a *third party’s mobile phone. The Tribunal emphasised that unauthenticated electronic material, without independent corroboration, cannot by itself establish an unexplained investment. It also held that the presumption under *Section 132(4A) cannot automatically be extended against another…

The Bombay High Court has held that reassessment proceedings initiated by issuing the foundational notice to a person who had already died are void ab initio. Section 159 cannot cure such a jurisdictional defect merely by later substituting the legal heir, and participation by the legal representative does not confer jurisdiction where none existed. The…

Restaurants cannot force customers to pay such charges, nor deny entry or service if the customer refuses to pay. Any compulsory levy of service charge may amount to an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. READ UPDATE in Detail  – https://caalokkumar.com/my-writing/ccpa/#ConsumerRights #CCPA #ServiceCharge #RestaurantBill #ConsumerProtection #KnowYourRights #LegalUpdate #ConsumerAwareness #IndiaLaw…

The CCFS 2026 extension to 31 August 2026 is a valuable opportunity for companies to clear old ROC filing defaults and restore compliance at a lower cost. Companies with pending AOC-4, MGT-7, MGT-7A, ADT-1 or related forms should act immediately. This extension should be used as a compliance clean-up window, not as a reason to…

The FAQs are important for taxpayers, Chartered Accountants, tax professionals, companies, trusts, NRIs and businesses because the Income-tax Act, 2025 has come into force from 1 April 2026, but many assessments, notices, searches, recovery proceedings, penalty matters and applications may still relate to earlier years. In simple words, the key question is: Which law will…

F&O and intraday trading have become very common among salaried individuals, professionals, business owners and active market participants. However, the tax rules on F&O and intraday trading are often misunderstood while filing the income tax return. Many taxpayers wrongly report F&O income as capital gains, ignore tax audit applicability, claim intraday losses incorrectly, or file…

SEO Setup Title: Salary Tax Planning for AY 2026-27: Legal Ways to Reduce Tax on Salary Suggested Slug: salary-tax-planning-ay-2026-27 Focus Keyword: salary tax planning AY 2026-27 Meta Description: Learn legal salary tax-planning strategies for AY 2026-27, including HRA, NPS, Section 80C, health insurance and old vs new tax regime. Salary tax planning should not be…

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority has brought renewed attention to unclaimed dividends, shares and other idle financial assets through its panel discussion on “Aapki Poonji Aapka Adhikaar – Learning and Way Forward”, held in New Delhi on 22 June 2026. The event assumes importance because unclaimed financial assets are not only a compliance…

SEO TitleITAT Chennai Section 271(1)(c) Penalty: Important Relief Where Section 148 Return Was Accepted Slugitat-chennai-section-271-1c-penalty Focus KeywordITAT Chennai Section 271(1)(c) Penalty Meta DescriptionITAT Chennai held that Section 271(1)(c) penalty cannot be imposed mechanically where income disclosed in a Section 148 return is accepted without further addition. Canonical URL CategoryIncome Tax Case Laws TagsSection 271(1)(c), Section…

The ITAT Bangalore ruling in Pavan Kumar Agarwal v. DCIT, Central Circle-2(3), Bengaluru is an important decision for taxpayers who sell multiple residential houses in one financial year and reinvest the capital gains in residential property. The key question before the Tribunal was whether exemption under Section 54 should be computed separately for each residential…

SEO Title: Section 147A Reassessment Notices: Supreme Court Remands JAO vs FAO CasesURL Slug: section-147a-reassessment-notices-supreme-court-remandMeta Description: Section 147A reassessment notices face fresh High Court scrutiny after Supreme Court remands JAO vs FAO cases post Finance Act 2026 amendment. Introduction Section 147A reassessment notices have become one of the most important reassessment litigation issues under the…

Foreign Tax Credit Form 67 has become an important compliance issue for Indian resident taxpayers earning foreign income. Many taxpayers pay tax outside India on foreign salary, dividends, ESOPs, RSUs, consultancy income or other overseas receipts. When the same income is also taxable in India, foreign tax credit helps avoid double taxation. A recent ITAT…

The Mumbai ITAT has delivered an important taxpayer-friendly ruling in Sophia Rick v. ITO, holding that an employee cannot be denied credit of TDS merely because the employer deducted tax from salary but failed to deposit the same with the Government. The case involved AY 2019-20, salary income of about ₹18.41 lakh, TDS credit claimed…

In Narayanan Sundaramahalingam Rajkumar v. ACIT, ITAT Chennai held that agricultural land falling within the prescribed population and aerial-distance limits under section 2(14)(iii)(b) is taxable as a capital asset, even if it is agricultural in revenue records. The Tribunal also gave relief on alleged on-money by restricting the addition to the admitted cash component and…

Union Budget 2026-27 has brought an important compliance shift through direct tax proposals for rationalising penalty and prosecution. The official PIB release states that assessment and penalty proceedings are proposed to be integrated, pre-payment is proposed to be reduced from 20% to 10% of core tax demand, and updated returns may be allowed even after…

The ITR filing season for AY 2026-27 is important because the Income Tax Department has made simplified return forms more useful for eligible taxpayers. The return for AY 2026-27 covers income earned during FY 2025-26, and the official transition FAQ clarifies that such filing continues under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The major change is that…

SEBI has approved a major set of capital market reforms at its Board meeting held on 19 June 2026. The official SEBI press-release listing records the item as PR No. 35/2026. (Securities and Exchange Board of India) The biggest reform is the reintroduction of open market buybacks through stock exchanges from 1 August 2026. Under…

A timing mismatch between income recognition and TDS deduction has long created practical hardship for taxpayers. In many cases, an assessee offers income to tax in one assessment year, but the deductor deducts and deposits TDS in a subsequent year. As a result, credit appears in Form 26AS/AIS for a different year, while the income…

Cryptocurrency taxation in India is now governed through the framework of Virtual Digital Assets. The term is wide enough to cover crypto tokens, NFTs and similar digital assets that are transferable, storable or tradeable electronically. Indian currency and foreign currency are excluded from this definition.  The core tax rule is simple but strict: income from…

Supreme Court on Reopening u/s 147/148: Sanand Properties Ruling and the Dilution of “Change of Opinion” Defence Landmark Ruling: Sanand Properties P. Ltd. vs JCIT — 2026 INSC 472 The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sanand Properties P. Ltd. vs Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Range 6 & Ors., Civil Appeal No. 9107 of 2012 with…

Auditor Withdrawal and Bona Fide Belief: Kerala High Court Condonates 676-Day Delay in ITAT Appeal Background of the Case – Mallelil Industries Pvt. Ltd. v. Principal CIT, Kottayam, ITA No. 51 of 2026, Delay condonation in tax appeals often involves a difficult balance. On one side is the law of limitation. On the other side…