Jurisprudentiol – Tuesday's cases

By Vijay Kumar

Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.Central Excise

CENVAT Credit on service tax paid on mobile phones - entitled - High Court

INTERPRETING the provisions of 2004 Rules, the Central Board of Excise and customs has issued a circular on 23rd August, 2007 superseding all earlier circulars and has held that credit of service tax on mobile phones would be available under the 2004 Rules. No fault can be found in the order of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal in granting credit of service tax paid on mobile phones.

Income Tax

Section 143(2) - Delayed Notice not valid - Genuineness of Gifts - assessee's plea allowed foe earlier period - same grounds for subsequent period - Gifts are personal, not in pursuance of her profession or vocation of politics - In absence of any quid pro quo , such gifts cannot be held from vocation of politics - ITAT

NO personal benefit has been promised or given to any donor, many of them are even not known to her, revenue's claim about quid pro quo or possibility thereof or assessee having influenced them to think so are all farfetched assumptions. The issues about the gifts being offered on party's call or its name on demand drafts, are not relevant inasmuch as AO has ultimately held these gifts as assessee's receipts and the dispute is in respect of head of income and personal versus professional receipt. Tribunal further added that gifts were given by all sorts of people, dalits, upper caste people, muslims from all walks of life. As already mentioned there were no obligations on the assessee to perform any duty toward donors and there was no quid pro quo, clinches the issue that gifts were received for personal qualities of the assessee and not from political vocation.

Customs

Settlement Commission has jurisdiction to settle Drawback issues - Drawback is nothing but remission of duty - High Court

ONE cannot dispute that it is nothing but a remission of duty on account of the statutory provisions in the Act and scheme framed by the Government of India. Under these circumstances, the duty drawback or claim for duty drawback is nothing but a claim for refund of duty may be as per the statutory scheme framed by the Government of India or in exercise of statutory powers under the provisions of the Act.

Held: the Settlement Commission had jurisdiction to deal with the question relating to the recovery of drawback erroneously paid by the Revenue.

See our columns Tomorrow for the judgements