Jurispruden tiol –Thursday's cases

By Vijay Kumar

Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.Sales Tax

Promise of exemption – promissory estoppel – state bound to give Exemption; taxes collected to be deposited with Government – Supreme Court

The State Government had been consistently giving assurances not only to the Company but also to the financial institutions that the necessary Sales Tax exemption notification will be issued. The Company had laid a clear, sound and a positive foundation for invoking the doctrine of `promissory estoppel'. The Company as well as the financial institutions were entitled to rely upon the repeated assurances given by the State Government. However, since the promised notification was not forthcoming, the Company was constrained to file the writ petition. When the State Government gives an assurance and undertaking, in form of a policy then in fact it allures person/industries to enter into the individual ventures, invest money on the assurances contained in the policy, would it be justified on the part of the State Government to say later on that on a second thought they were withdrawing the policy and the benefits flowing from that policy?

Income Tax

Unabsorbed depreciation or business loss in respect of eligible 10A unit is to be set off against the profit of the same eligible 10A unit for determining the amount of deduction available u/s 10A

The tribunal did not find any justification cause to interfere with the order of the CIT(A) whereby he has upheld the order of the A.O. in setting off of unabsorbed business losses or unabsorbed depreciation in respect of eligible unit brought forward from assessment year 2002-03 against the profit of same eligible unit for the purpose of determining the amount of deduction available u/s 10A to the assessee in the present assessment year 2004-05.

Customs

Since the application for Stay is likely to be posted for hearing only in the month of March, 2010, ad-interim stay of recovery granted - Order issued by Dasti - CESTAT

It appears from these proceedings of the Dy. Commissioner that the department is out to recover the balance amount from the appellant. Notice of this mention was given to the JCDR on 15.12.2009. In the circumstances, there will be ad-interim stay of recovery till the final disposal of the stay application pending in the captioned appeal.

Service Tax

Photography Services, Air Travel Agent & Tourist Taxi Services are not Input Services – if the appellant is aggrieved, the only remedy is to file a statutory appeal and not by a ROM application - CESTAT

Any error, if at all, committed in examining the grounds of the appeal could only be remedied in a statutory appeal against the Tribunal's order. The appellant has found fault with a crucial finding recorded in the final order, which is to the effect that any service to be brought within the ambit of the definition of “input service” should be one which should satisfy the essential requirements of the main part of the definition.

See our columns Tomorrow for the judgements