Karnataka High Court Seeks State's Response To PVR INOX Plea Against 2% Cinema Ticket Cess

The Karnataka High Court has sought the State government's response to a plea challenging the 2% cess imposed on cinema tickets under the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Act, 2024.A bench of Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad directed the State to take notice and observed that the issue concerning the applicability of the relevant provisions would be considered after examining whether the 2024 Act has formally come into force.The matter is listed for further hearing tomorrow. The...

GST Introduced After Tender Cannot Be Treated As Included In Quoted Rates: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court at Nagpur has ruled that a contractor cannot be denied GST reimbursement by relying on tender clauses requiring quoted rates to include “applicable taxes” when GST was not in existence when the tender was issued.A Division Bench of Justice Anil S. Kilor and Justice Raj D. Wakode, relying on the tender clasues observed,"The taxes which are not recoverable by the Government from the contractors, on the date of tender, cannot be the basis for quoting the rates while submitting...

Calcutta High Court Says MSME Can't Seek Revival Benefit After SARFAESI Action, Rejects Debpara Claim

The Calcutta High Court on 2 September dismissed a writ petition filed by Debpara Tea Company Ltd against State Bank of India (SBI), which sought the benefit of the Framework for Revival and Rehabilitation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and challenged the classification of its account as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA). Justice Krishna Rao held that an MSME cannot seek the benefit of the Framework at a belated stage after the bank has issued a notice under Section 13(4) of the...

GST Appeal Limitation To Run From Rectification Order Where Application Filed In Time: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that a GST appeal cannot be rejected as time-barred by calculating limitation solely from the original adjudication order when the assessee had filed a rectification application within the prescribed period and the application was subsequently decided by the adjudicating authority.A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati observed, “It would not be permissible to reject the appeal on the ground of limitation by computing...

Telangana High Court Upholds Gimpex's Target Plus Duty Exemption, Says Broad Nexus Sufficient

The Telangana High Court on 11 August upheld the relief granted to Gimpex Limited, holding that the extended period of limitation could not be invoked in the absence of material showing fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts with an intent to evade duty. A Division Bench comprising Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda observed that a strict product-to-product nexus between imported and exported goods was not required to claim duty exemption under the Target Plus Scheme....

Madras High Court Says Appeal Against Fresh Assessment Order Statutorily Barred, Remands BHEL Matter

The Madras High Court on 10 August remanded Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited's (BHEL) tax matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh assessment. A Division Bench comprising Justices Dr. G. Jayachandran and N. Mala passed the order while disposing of a Tax Case Revision filed by BHEL against the order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. The judges held: “The assessment orders in the instant case and the orders of the Appellate Authority are verbose and detailed. However, the fact remains that...

Development Agreement Involves Commercial Exploitation; Dispute Is Commercial: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that a development agreement concerning immovable property involves commercial exploitation of the property and that a dispute arising from such an agreement can therefore be treated as a commercial dispute.“A development agreement in respect of an immovable property by its sheer nature encompasses trade or commerce in relation to the immovable property concerned. Development Agreement per se involves commercial exploitation of an immovable property. Therefore,...

Gauhati High Court Directs Refund Of Cess Paid Under Mistake Of Law By Oil India And ONGC

The Gauhati High Court on 27 August held that the Central Excise Department cannot retain Education Cess (EC) and Secondary & Higher Education Cess (SHEC) paid under a mistake of law merely because the refund claim was filed beyond the prescribed limitation period. A Division Bench comprising Justices Michael Zothankhuma and Anjan Moni Kalita dismissed appeals filed by the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Dibrugarh, in matters concerning Oil India Limited and Oil and Natural Gas...

Madras High Court Upholds Deletion Of ₹70.95 Cr. Tax Additions In Bogus Long Term Capital Gains Cases

The Madras High Court on 28 August upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's orders deleting tax additions of Rs. 32.90 crore and Rs. 38.05 crore in cases concerning Long Term Capital Gains claimed from the sale of shares in PFL Infotech Limited and Risa International Limited. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed the Revenue's appeals and the connected appeals concerning penalty under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax...

TPO Cannot Reject Comparables Merely To Adopt Department's Preferred Set: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on 28 August held that a Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) cannot reject comparable companies selected by a taxpayer merely to replace them with a standard set of comparables preferred by the Income Tax Department, holding that the selection or exclusion of comparables must satisfy the requirements under the Income Tax Act and Rule 10B of the Income Tax Rules. A Division Bench of Justices S.G. Pandit and K.V. Aravind allowed the batch of transfer pricing appeals, including...

'Tragic Picture Of IP Rights Ecosystem': Bombay High Court Rules Scientist, Not IIT Bombay, Owns Invention After 13-Year Battle

Observing that prolonged proceedings over a patent application had cost a scientist 13 years out of the 20-year statutory patent protection period, the Bombay High Court has recognised him as the sole owner of the invention and directed that his patent application be considered on merits. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan was dealing with a petition filed by Dr. Tarkeshwar Chandrakant Patil, an original inventor named in the patent application filed by IIT Bombay for an invention titled “An...

PIL In Calcutta High Court Seeks Expedited Appointments To West Bengal RERA, Appellate Tribunal

The Calcutta High Court recently directed the State's counsel to obtain necessary instructions on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging prolonged vacancies in key posts at the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (WBREAT) and the West Bengal Real Estate Regulatory Authority (WBRERA).A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee, on September 3, directed Additional Government Pleader Susmita Saha Dutta, appearing for the State to...