The reform process for the indirect taxation regime in India has been ongoing for some time, with the prevailing view being that simplification of tax regime and a principle-laden approach was an essential concomitant in the outlook of a developed nation. Much debate has ensued and during the...

In an earlier article titled as ‘Service Tax on Lawyers: A levy short lived?' [Excise and Customs Reporter Vol. 191(4), pp. 55SF-60SF] I had an occasion to point out that the levy of service tax on individual lawyers was an experiment out of the various experiments conducted by the Government...

Valuation has always been a key issue in any fiscal regime. Issues relating to valuation are often a sore point between the tax authorities and the subject taxpayer inasmuch as multiple methods and techniques of valuation exists to determine the assessable value which forms the basis for...

The Indian Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime recently replaced the earlier laws providing for tax on supplies of goods and services. Under the new regime, transfer pricing rules have been introduced, which were virtually non-existent earlier. The GST regime insists on arm's length pricing in...

The Constitution (One-Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 currently pending consideration of the Parliament seeks to usher a new indirect tax regime in India purported as the ‘Goods and Service Tax' The avowed intent of this Amendment Bill, in terms of its “Statement of Objects...

Taxation, as the right of every sovereign, has always witnessed constant repulsion and challenge by the subjects in as much as taxation per se is a compulsory exaction by the State . Any rationale for the compulsory acquisition notwithstanding, the sovereign State is often at odds with other...

The Madras High Court recently in AGS Construction has repelled the challenge to levy of service tax on lease of cinematographic films, inter alia, declaring that the Parliament has legislative competence to impose service tax and in any case the levy is on temporary transfer of cinematographic...

Comparatively a recent entrant in the fiscal space, 'Service Tax' in India has garnered legislative and judicial attention more than its fair share. Given its contribution to the public exchequer and fueled by the consistent increase in collection, the legal and constitutional challenges to the...

In a recent decision Shields & Sons Partnership - C-262/16 the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ') has adverted to the nuances of composition scheme in the context of Value Added Tax models. This decision examines the rationale for introduction of such scheme, which is the administrative...