The Daily Tax Law Briefing – 31 July 2026 brings together the latest judicial developments under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Income-tax Act, 1961. This edition analyses seven significant judicial pronouncements, comprising four GST judgments and three Income Tax decisions, delivered by the Karnataka High Court, Andhra Pradesh High Court, Uttarakhand High Court, Gujarat High Court and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai. The rulings examine important issues relating to common show cause notices under Section 74, validity of unsigned GST assessment orders, cancellation of GST registration, redevelopment of property, limitation for reassessment and search assessments.
The GST section is led by the Karnataka High Court’s decision in Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax v. Ozone Facility Management Pvt. Ltd., where the Court held that a consolidated or common show cause notice issued under Section 74 of the CGST/KGST Act is legally permissible. Relying upon its earlier Division Bench judgment, the Court set aside the order of the learned Single Judge which had quashed the common notice and remanded the matter to the adjudicating authority for fresh adjudication after granting the taxpayer an opportunity to file objections. This judgment clarifies the procedural validity of common notices covering multiple tax periods under Section 74.
The briefing also includes two important judgments of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reaffirming that unsigned GST assessment orders are legally invalid. In M/s GSN Granites and Nominee Works Committee Kalavalla, the Court held that an assessment order or its accompanying DRC-07 summary issued without the signature of the Assessing Officer is inherently void and that such a defect cannot be cured under Sections 160 or 169 of the CGST Act. Recognising the practical difficulties taxpayers often face in accessing orders uploaded on the GST portal, the Court set aside the assessment orders and remanded the matters for fresh adjudication, subject to the petitioners depositing twenty per cent of the disputed tax within the stipulated period.
Another noteworthy GST ruling comes from the Uttarakhand High Court in M/s Snowline Travel Ventures LLP, where the Court held that filing NIL GST returns is not a statutory ground for cancellation of registration under Section 29(2) of the CGST Act. Since the cancellation order was founded solely on the filing of NIL returns, both the show cause notice and the cancellation order were quashed. The decision reinforces that registration can be cancelled only on grounds expressly specified in the statute.
The Income Tax section analyses three important decisions concerning capital gains, limitation and reassessment. The Mumbai Bench of the ITAT in Rajesh Shamji Furia held that redevelopment of a residential property does not result in acquisition of a fresh capital asset. Instead, the redeveloped flat merely substitutes the original property while preserving the owner’s existing rights. Accordingly, the Tribunal treated the gain arising from the sale of the redeveloped flat as Long-Term Capital Gain, granted indexation benefits and allowed exemption under Sections 54 and 54F.
The Karnataka High Court in RNS Infrastructure Limited ruled that assessments framed pursuant to search proceedings were barred by limitation. Following its earlier decision concerning Settlement Commission proceedings, the Court held that the assessment orders had been passed beyond the permissible statutory period and were therefore without jurisdiction. Consequently, the assessments as well as the consequential penalty notices were quashed.
The briefing concludes with the Gujarat High Court’s decision in Wealth First Portfolio Managers Limited, where the Court applied the “surviving time” principle laid down by the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Rajeev Bansal. The Court held that the reassessment notice issued under Section 148 after the decision in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal was beyond the surviving limitation period and therefore invalid. The notice and all consequential proceedings were accordingly quashed.
The Daily Tax Law Briefing – 31 July 2026 serves as a valuable resource for advocates, chartered accountants, company secretaries, tax consultants, businesses and corporate tax teams seeking concise updates on the latest judicial developments. The briefing provides practical guidance on GST adjudication, taxpayer rights, reassessment proceedings, redevelopment taxation and statutory limitation while helping professionals remain updated with evolving judicial trends.
