The Supreme Court has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Income Tax Department against IBASIS Netherlands B.V., citing an inordinate delay of 503 days in filing the appeal.
The bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe observed that the delay of 503 days in filing the SLP was excessive and that the explanation provided by the appellant did not amount to “sufficient cause” under the law. In its order, the bench stated that there was no justification to condone such an inordinate delay, even after hearing submissions from the Additional Solicitor General.
The dispute traces back to the assessment for the financial year 2017–18, where the Revenue had challenged a ruling of the Karnataka High Court that was in favour of IBASIS Netherlands. The High Court had upheld the decision of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), observing that the issues involved were substantially similar to earlier cases where relief had already been granted to telecom operators.
In its 2024 ruling, the Karnataka High Court relied on precedents including Commissioner of Income Tax v. Belgacom International Carrier Services SA and Vodafone Idea Ltd. v. Deputy Director of Income Tax (International Taxation). The court emphasized the well-established legal principle that “like cases must be treated alike,” noting that the Revenue failed to present any distinguishing features that would justify a different outcome in the IBASIS matter. Consequently, the appeal was disposed of in line with these earlier rulings, extending similar relief to the taxpayer.
Despite this, the Commissioner of Income Tax approached the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the High Court’s decision. However, the apex court bench comprising Justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Alok Aradhe declined to entertain the petition on procedural grounds.
The Special Leave Petition was dismissed solely on the ground of delay, without any examination of the merits of the case. This effectively brings finality to the Karnataka High Court’s ruling in favour of IBASIS Netherlands.
Case Details
Case Title: CIT Versus Ibasis Netherlands B.V.
Citation: JURISHOUR-668-SC-2026
Case No.: Special Leave Petition (Civil) Diary No(S). 5341/2026
Date: 06-04-2026
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