CA Tanpreet Kohli has analyzed in detail the impact upon Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) of the amendment to section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 by the Finance Act 2020. He has pointed out that while the amendment is intended to plug tax planning by way of residential status, there are several challenges that will arise during its interpretation and this may lead to litigation between the taxpayers and the authorities

Introduction
The Income Tax Act, 1961 (“The Act”), taxes a “Person” on the basis of its residence, which is unlike countries like United States of America, which taxes on the basis of citizenship.  In the Act, the cardinals of Residence in India is laid down by Section 6 of the Act, which categorises a resident into 3 categories, namely:

1. Resident

a. Resident and Ordinarily Resident (“ROR”)

b. Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident (“RNOR”)

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CA. Pankaj Agrwal has raised several interesting and important questions relating to the law governing a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). He has provided a detailed explanation of section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and also referred to all the landmark judgements of the Supreme Court which have interpreted the law

Lockdown has given us an opportunity to interact and to listen to professionals on varied subject of interest. I had an opportunity to join such two webinars on Hindu Undivided Family. Due to paucity of time and technological limitations, on some aspects, there could not be as much discussions as ought to be. The major issue is relating to section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as amended which gives rights to daughters. The issues which arise for discussion are as under:

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In PILCOM vs. CIT, the Supreme Court has held that the obligation of the payer to deduct Tax at Source is not affected by the fact that the income may not be taxable in the hands of the recipient under a DTAA. The judgement has created confusion as it appears to run counter to the earlier judgements of the Supreme Court. Saurabh N. Soparkar, Sr. Advocate, and Bandish S. Soparkar, Advocate, have studied the judgement in depth and explained it in the proper perspective

I .         Introduction:

A recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of PILCOM v. CIT (1) is likely to create significant confusion if not examined from proper perspective. On a first blush it seeks to unsettle a settled law, viz. a person is not liable to deduct tax at source in relation to payment made to a non resident which is, in the hands of the payee, not chargeable to tax. It seemingly lays down that

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CAs Nidhi Surana, Vidhan Surana and Palak Bhatt have pointed out that Assessing Officers are reluctant to issue refunds and that the mechnism laid down in the Act is only on paper. They have explained, with reference to the judgements on the point, that the action of withholding refund under section 241A of the Act, pursuant to notice u/s 143(2) of the Act, without recording justifiable reasons and approved in a routine manner by the PCIT tantamounts to exercise of power without jurisdiction and is not legally sustainable in the eyes of law

1. Introduction

1.1.  Provisions of section Section 143(1) were amended by the Finance Act, 2008 with a view to  allow prima facie adjustment or correcting arithmetical mistakes or internal inconsistencies in the Return of Income filed by an assesse. Prior to the amendment its scope was limited only to checking as to whether taxes have been correctly paid on the income returned. Under the earlier section, it was held that an intimation under section 143(1)(a) cannot be sent after issuing notice under section 143(2). [CIT v. Hindustan Electro Graphites Ltd. [2000] 109 Taxman 342/243 ITR 48 (SC); CIT v. Gujarat Electricity Board [2003] 129 Taxman 65/260 ITR 84 (SC). The legislature has also amended sub section (1) of section 143 so as to provide mandatory processing of Return of Income filed by the Assessee and therefore, the word ‘Shall be processed’ has been inserted.Therefore, Section 143(1) has been amended by Finance Act, 2008 so as to provide adjustments to the total income in the Return of Income filed by the Assessee on following counts;

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CA Piyush Bafna has explained the subtle but important distinction between the various types of deeming provisions that are prevalent in a statute. He has pointed out that within the Income-tax Act itself, there are numerous deeming provisions such as sections 2(22)(e), 9, 11, 41, 50C, etc. He has explained the nuances of these provisions and also drawn attention to the important judgements on the point. A pdf copy of the article is available for download

1. INTRODUCTION:

Deeming provisions are important part of statutes in general and Income Tax Act (‘Act’) in particular. Without deeming provisions modern tax legislation cannot think of implementing effective tax administration. Considering the recent trend, one gets amused how much legislature has got creative in imagining tax fictions to collect revenue and plug loopholes;sometimes travelling much beyond their initial purpose. However, interpretation of deeming provision in the Income Tax Act is always a vexed issue with insurmountable complexity and litigation. Thus, it is of paramount importance to understand intricacies involved in interpretation ofdeeming provisions in order to better guide ourselves while analysing deeming tax fictions. 

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CA. Vinay V. Kawdia has provided interesting insights into the law on taxation of Joint Development Agreements (JDA). He has identified the numerous controversies arising therein. He has provided a clear-cut analysis of the statutory provisions and also given practical examples to explain their impact. A large number of important judicial precedents have also been referred to

A. Introduction:

In The Blind Men and the Elephant, by American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887), six blind men meet an elephant for the first time and each man touches a different part of the elephant and makes predictions about what the elephant is like. The same is the story of Income Tax on Joint Development agreement. Land owners, developers, assessing officers, tax consultants, auditors and appellate authorities are like those six blind men who touches the various facets of the elephant called JDA and makes predictions about what should be the tax implications!

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Advocate Gunjan Kakkad has done extensive research on the issue whether Section 99 of the Finance Act, 2020, which curbs the powers of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal to grant stay, is constitutionally valid. He has put forward his arguments in a logical manner and formulated several convincing propositions. He has aso relied upon a large number of judgements to buttress his propositions

1. Introduction

Section 99 of Finance Act, 2020 (hereinafter for sake of brevity referred to as “the Finance Act”)has sought to amend the first proviso to section 254(2A) of the Act in respect of granting stay in any proceedings relating to an appeal filed before the Hon’ble Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (“the ITAT”). This amendment has the potential to be interpreted in a manner that can cause immense hardship to the taxpayersand thereby increase litigation.

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Advocates Aarti Sathe and Niraj Sheth have prophesied that full digitization of litigation in the form of e-filing and virtual hearings will become a reality of our life in the near future. They have cited several real-life examples in our Country and in other Countries where virtual litigation has already been successfully conducted. The ld. authors have acknowledged the huge infrastructure challenges that have to be overcome to make the goal a reality and have offered a few suggestions on how it can be done

Introduction

Courts are an integral part of our society and are required to keep functioning so as to maintain law and order. They are a necessary fixture not just for a section of the community but everyone at large. It is impossible to imagine the regular working of a nation without the regulatory supervision of the judicial system, even for a short period of time. This has been brought to light via the recent COVID-19 pandemic which called for a complete lockdown on all services to avoid the spread of the virus. The only solution which was recognised also by the Supreme Court was to turn to digitalizing legal proceedings through the medium of video conferencing. (1) This only goes to justify the understanding of courts as a ‘service’ and not a ‘place’. The object of this article is to emphasize upon the significance of using modern technology to conduct court proceedings to not only prevent disruption in the justice delivery system but also streamline the future of the Indian judiciary.

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Advocate Fenil Bhatt has raised the seminal question whether the amendments by the Finance Act 2020 to section 254(2A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which curbs the powers of the Tribunal to grant a stay of demand, is constitutionally valid. The Ld. Author has argued that the amendment is not permissible as it affects the decision-making independence of the Tribunal and obstructs dispensation of justice. He has also pointed out that the amendment is wholly arbitrary and unreasonable. No reasons have been given by the legislature as to the need for curbing the powers of the Tribunal. He has relied on several landmark judgements to support his contentions

The urge of sharing thoughts on the aforesaid issue arose to me in a very trying time for humanity. A microorganism has forced us to surrender significant portion of one of our much-cherished civil liberties. Though, for the greater good but one cannot deny the fact that it is a little unsettling. Taking a cue from autonomy of an individual, autonomy of a judicial institution is equally important, if not more, because of a simple fact that it decides upon the rights between two parties. The Income tax Appellate Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) is one such judicial body, which adjudicates upon disputes between the State and an Assessee under the Act. It is the oldest Tribunal in India and its functioning is as robust as when it was established. There can be no quarrel with the fact that the Tribunal has lived upto the faith bestowed by its Stakeholders, including the Bar.

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Advocate Rahul Sarda has pointed out that the recent judgement of the Supreme Court in Basir Ahmed Sisodia vs. ITO 116 TM.com 375 (SC) upholds the fundamental tenet of taxation that tax proceedings are not adversary proceedings. Tax authorities are engaged only in the administrative act of adjusting a taxpayer’s liability. A taxpayer who has failed to bring on record all facts in the assessment proceedings to justify his claim can do so during the penalty proceedings and expect to succeed in the assessment proceedings

Introduction

1. In the midst of the lockdown imposed by the Government of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court of India has passed an important and a first-of-its-kind judgement on 24th April 2020 in the case of Basir Ahmed Sisodiavs. ITO reported in [2020] 116 taxmann.com 375 (SC) (hereinafter referred to as the/ this “Judgement”).

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