Income Tax
Assessment, TDS, capital gains and CBDT positions.
CBDT Extends ITR Filing Deadline for Audited Taxpayers to 21 November 2026 — Tax Audit Report Deadline Moves to 21 October
By CA Siddharth S. Sancheti, Editor, Finoscape Verification note: This report is based on the official press release issued by […]
28 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreTwenty Years, One Machine: Calcutta HC Settles Whether an ATM Is a “Computer” for Depreciation
The Calcutta High Court has held that ATMs qualify as “computers” under the Income-tax Rules, entitling banks to the higher depreciation rate. What the functional-utility test means for any business claiming depreciation on specialised equipment.
24 Sept 20266 min read
Read More“Tremendous Pressure” Is Not a Reason: Calcutta HC Refuses to Excuse the Income Tax Department’s 4-Year Delay in Filing Its Own Appeal
The Calcutta High Court has refused to condone a 1,480-day delay by the Income Tax Department in filing an appeal against PwC, holding that departmental workload is not “sufficient cause” under Section 260A of the Income-tax Act.
23 Sept 20266 min read
Read MoreSupreme Court: A CBDT Circular Cannot Bind the Courts — Export Quota Premium Denied Section 80HHC Benefit
In Orient Crafts Ltd. & Samtex Fashions Ltd. v. CIT, the Supreme Court has held that a CBDT circular equating export-quota sale premiums with Section 28(iiia)-(iiic) export income cannot bind the courts, denying the connected Section 80HHC deduction.
20 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreCBDT Removes Arrest and Detention From Tax Recovery, Extends Valuer/Practitioner Registration Deadline to March 2027
The CBDT has notified the Income-tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026, removing arrest and detention as a mode of tax recovery under Rule 225 and extending the Valuer and Authorised Income-tax Practitioner registration deadline to 31 March 2027.
20 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreSupreme Court Stays the Section 147A Ruling: The Reassessment Fight Is Frozen Until December
A stay usually means one thing wins and the other loses. This one doesn’t — the Supreme Court has frozen both the Section 147A ruling and the reassessment proceedings riding on it, until 3 December.
19 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreOnce Settled, Always Settled: Supreme Court Shuts the Door on Reopening ITSC Orders Through Reassessment
Settlement is supposed to mean something is actually settled. That was, at bottom, the question the Supreme Court answered on […]
18 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreCentre Challenges the Section 147A Ruling: The Reassessment Fight Moves to the Supreme Court
Six days is not very long, as legal timelines go. On 11 September, the Punjab & Haryana High Court struck […]
18 Sept 20266 min read
Read MoreDelhi HC: Same Income, Taxed Twice, Six Years Apart — the Court Fixed It
The Delhi High Court has permitted a belated revised return under Section 119(2)(b) after a taxpayer, through no fault of its own, ended up paying tax on the same ₹7.58 crore of interest income twice, after the deductor silently revised Form 26AS.
15 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreCBDT Introduces SFT-2517: The Invisible Hand That’s About to Pre-Fill Your Client’s Capital Gains
CBDT’s Notification No. 1 of 2026 prescribes SFT-2517 for depository participants — here’s what it means for your clients’ ITR pre-fill, AIS reconciliation, and your capital gains practice.
15 Sept 20264 min read
Read MoreITAT Mumbai: A Bitcoin Reassessment Fell Apart Over Who Signed the Approval, Not the Bitcoin
ITAT Mumbai has quashed a reassessment that added Rs 1.24 crore in bitcoin-sale proceeds as unexplained investment, after finding the reopening — beyond three years — was sanctioned by the wrong authority under Section 151(ii).
14 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreDelhi HC: An Assessing Officer Can’t Ignore a Reply That’s Already on the Record
The Delhi High Court has quashed a Section 148A(d) reassessment order because the Assessing Officer had the taxpayer’s reply on record — uploaded before the order was passed — and simply didn’t consider it.
14 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreMadras HC: Suspicion Cannot Replace Proof — Rs 70.95 Crore Bogus LTCG Addition Deleted
Madras HC dismisses Revenue’s appeals in CIT Chennai v. Sohanraj Uttamchand — upholds ITAT deletion of Rs 70.95 crore LTCG addition. Steep share-price rise alone, without taxpayer-specific evidence, cannot make LTCG bogus.
14 Sept 20266 min read
Read More“Change of Opinion” Reaffirmed: Bombay HC Quashes a Six-Year-Late Reassessment on a Settled Section 54F Claim
The Bombay High Court has quashed a reassessment notice issued six years after a Section 54F capital gains claim was accepted, holding that an Assessing Officer need not discuss every issue for the law to treat it as examined.
13 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreSection 147A Struck Down: Punjab & Haryana High Court Reopens the JAO Reassessment-Notice Fight
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has struck down Section 147A of the Income Tax Act as unconstitutional, reopening the fight over reassessment notices issued by Jurisdictional Assessing Officers rather than the faceless centre — with roughly ₹17 lakh crore in disclosed fiscal exposure and 500+ writ petitions directly affected.
13 Sept 20266 min read
Read MoreITAT Delhi Allows Full Section 87A Rebate Against STCG Under Section 111A for AY 2025-26
The Delhi ITAT has ruled that a resident individual’s Section 87A rebate for AY 2025-26 cannot be restricted for short-term capital gains taxed under Section 111A, holding that the Finance Act 2025’s exclusion of special-rate income applies only from AY 2026-27 onward — and that a CPC processing utility cannot apply it a year early.
11 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreSupreme Court: Delay in Depositing Tax Is Not “Failure to Pay” — Saudi Arabian Airlines Penalty Quashed
The Supreme Court has quashed a ₹71.29 lakh penalty on Saudi Arabian Airlines, holding that mere delay in depositing Foreign Travel Tax cannot be equated with failure to pay it, and that penalty under a fiscal statute is never automatic.
7 Sept 20269 min read
Read MoreITAT Delhi: Missing Section 143(2) Notice Invalidates Reassessment Even With Taxpayer Participation
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi has quashed a reassessment involving a Rs 53.50 lakh addition after finding the Assessing Officer never issued the mandatory Section 143(2) notice — holding that the taxpayer’s participation in proceedings could not cure the defect.
5 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreP&H HC: Improvement Trust, Bathinda’s Plot-Sale Surplus Doesn’t Deny Charitable Status — Case Explained
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a statutory improvement trust does not lose its Section 12AA registration or Section 2(15) charitable status merely because it earns a surplus selling developed plots, where the surplus funds public welfare.
5 Sept 20267 min read
Read MoreDelhi HC Confirms ESOP Discount Deductible Under Section 37(1) — PVR Ltd Case Explained
The Delhi High Court has held that the discount on shares issued under an Employee Stock Option Plan or Employee Stock Purchase Scheme is deductible revenue expenditure under Section 37(1), following the Karnataka High Court’s Biocon ruling.
4 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreITAT Delhi Quashes Time-Barred Section 148 Reassessment Notice — Ravindra v. ITO Explained
The ITAT Delhi has quashed a Section 148 reassessment notice for AY 2015-16 issued three days beyond the six-year outer limit, and deleted the resulting Rs 27.81 lakh penalty.
4 Sept 20265 min read
Read MoreFAST-DS 2026: Form 1 Live on e-Filing Portal — How to Disclose Foreign Assets Before 31 December 2026
The Income Tax Department has activated Form 1 for the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS 2026) on the e-Filing portal. A practical guide to eligibility, the 60% effective levy, the ₹1 lakh fee track, the valuation date, and how to file before 31 December 2026.
3 Sept 20266 min read
Read MoreP&H HC Denies Section 54B Exemption for Land in Wife’s Name — Bahadur Singh Case Explained
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has denied a taxpayer’s Section 54B capital gains exemption because the replacement agricultural land was purchased solely in his wife’s name, not jointly with him — a ruling delivered the same day as a contrasting Section 54F decision.
3 Sept 20266 min read
Read MoreP&H HC Upholds Section 54F Exemption on Jointly Owned House — Jangpal Singh Tanwar Case Explained
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed the Revenue’s appeal and upheld a taxpayer’s Section 54F capital gains exemption even though the replacement house was purchased jointly with his wife and son — because he had invested the entire capital gain himself.
3 Sept 20267 min read
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