Suspicion, Human Probabilities Insufficient For Tax Additions Without Evidence: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court on 6 March held that additions under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be sustained merely on suspicion or the test of human probabilities and must rest on concrete evidence. A Division Bench of Justices Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao dismissed the Revenue's appeals and upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)'s decision to remand the issue of Rs. 182 crore share premium received by Bharathi Cement Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for fresh examination. It...

Bombay High Court Admits Limited 115JB Questions In ACC Case, Holds Settled Issues Not Appealable

The Bombay High Court on 16 March partly admitted an appeal filed by the Department against ACC Limited, holding that several issues raised by the Revenue were already covered by binding precedents and therefore did not give rise to any substantial question of law. A Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Firdosh P. Pooniwalla, however, admitted the appeal on four questions concerning computation of book profits under Section 115JB of the Income Tax Act, 1961. They held: “The appeal is...

Developer Undertaking Risk And Execution Qualifies For Section 80-IA Deduction: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 11 March held that a taxpayer-company undertaking substantial development work, investment risk and technical execution cannot be treated as a mere works contractor and is entitled to deduction under Section 80-IA(4) of the Income Tax Act for profits from infrastructure projects. A Bench comprising Justices M. S. Karnik and S. M. Modak dismissed the Revenue's appeals against Patel Engineering Ltd., holding that the latter acted as a “developer” of infrastructure...

Madras High Court Refuses To Fast-Track Karti Chidambaram's NCLT Plea Seeking Defreezing Of Bank Account

The Madras High Court on Thursday refused to direct the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai Bench, to expeditiously dispose of an application filed by Karti P. Chidambaram, son of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, in PMLA proceedings against him, seeking defreezing of his bank account, holding that such directions would place “unnecessary pressure” on judicial forums. A Division Bench of Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice K. Surender said constitutional courts must exercise...

Delhi High Court To Pass Interim Order Protecting Actor Allu Arjun's Personality Rights

The Delhi High Court on Friday said it will pass interim orders in a personality rights suit filed by Telugu actor Allu Arjun, who seeks to restrain the unauthorized use of his name, likeness, and signature for commercial gain. Presiding over the matter, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela heard arguments on alleged infringement of the actor's personality rights, with the case focusing on specific instances of misuse of artificial intelligence tools such as voice cloning and fake video call applications....

Old Income Tax Demands Cannot Surface On Portal Without Serving Underlying Orders: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court recently observed that old income tax demands could not be sustained where the underlying orders were not made available to the taxpayer, observing that such demands cannot be permitted to surface without proper disclosure. “Old matters and demands cannot be allowed to suddenly surface on the portal without the underlying orders being available and served. Consequently, the impugned demands cannot be sustained,” the court said. A Division Bench of Justices B. P....

Madras High Court Dismisses Actress Tamanna Bhatia's Rs 1 Crore Damages Claim Against Soap Maker

The court held that use of an actress’s image after expiry of an endorsement agreement amounts to violation of personality and privacy rights, but found no evidence linking the company to the alleged use.

State Cannot Defer MSME Payments Once Work Is Completed; Funds Shortage No Defence: J&K&L High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has recently held that under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises framework, once execution of work is admitted, the State and its instrumentalities cannot defer their obligation to make payment on the plea of paucity of funds or administrative approval. A bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal observed, “Once the execution of work is admitted, the obligation to make payment stands crystallized and cannot be deferred on the plea of paucity of funds...

GST Refund Limitation Mandatory; Delay Can Be Condoned Under Article 226 In Cases Of Genuine Hardship: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court held that the two-year limitation under Section 54 of the CGST Act is mandatory, and cannot be relaxed by tax authorities. However, in cases of genuine hardship, delay in filing refund claims may be condoned by invoking writ jurisdiction under Article 226, subject to safeguards protecting the Revenue.The Division Bench comprising Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind made the ruling. Section 54 of the CGST Act provides provisions for claiming refunds of...

Gauhati High Court Appoints Arbitrator, Allows Arbitration Without Notice As Intent To Arbitrate Was Clear

The Gauhati High Court has appointed its former judge Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua as sole arbitrator in a dispute between Ekta Shakti Foundation and the State of Assam, holding that, in the peculiar facts of the case, an arbitration plea can be entertained even without a formal notice where a valid arbitration agreement is undisputed. A Bench of Justice Soumitra Saikia said, "it appears that the dispute between the parties have not been resolved and on the other hand there is a method...

Lottery Ticket Discount Not “Commission” Absent Payment Or Credit, No TDS Applicable: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 9 April held that the difference between the face value of lottery tickets and the discounted price at which a taxpayer sells them to dealers does not constitute “commission.” Therefore, it is not subject to tax deduction at source (TDS) under Section 194G of the Income Tax Act. The Division Bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and Shamim Ahmed dismissed the Revenue's appeal and upheld the Tribunal's order in favour of Martin Lottery Agencies Ltd. The judges observed: ...

No Appeal Lies Against Dismissal Of Contempt Plea Without Punishment: NCLAT

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at Chennai has recently reiterated that an appeal against dismissal of a contempt petition is not maintainable where no punishment has been imposed. The bench of Judicial Member Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Technical Member Jatindranath Swain fater examining the Contempt of Courts Act, observed, “Section 19(1) envisages Appeal against only those orders where a punishment has been inflicted for contempt. In the instant case, no...