Income Tax | Reference To District Valuation Officer Cannot Be Used To Initiate Assessment Proceedings: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has dismissed the revenue's appeal against Legend Estates Pvt. Ltd. and held that a reference to the District Valuation Officer under Section 142A of the Income Tax Act is untenable where the taxpayer's books of accounts are neither rejected nor found defective. It also held that a reference under Section 142A can be made only during the course of assessment or reassessment proceedings and not for the purpose of initiating such proceedings. A Division Bench of Justice...

Interest Earned By Co-operative Credit Society On Bank Deposits Eligible For Tax Deduction: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has held that interest earned by the Hyderabad-based co-operative credit society on bank deposits made from its business funds is eligible for deduction under the provision applicable to co-operative societies providing credit facilities to their members."It is clear that eligibility for deduction under Section 80P(2)(a) requires that the claim must relate to the profits and gains of business attributable to one or more of the activities specified therein. In the present...

Revenue Cannot Demand Interest On Delayed Duties Yet Deny It On Refund: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court recently held that the Revenue is bound to compensate a taxpayer for amounts wrongfully collected and retained as interest on alleged central excise duty liability arising from a customs notification, even where such amounts were recovered under an amnesty scheme. The court said, “the Revenue cannot act in contradicting ways, i.e., on one hand demanding interest from the assessee for the delay in payment of duties and on other hand refusing to pay interest on the amount...

MP High Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award In Insulator Supply Dispute For Patent Illegality

Setting aside an arbitral award in a dispute over the supply of disc insulators for transmission lines, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has found that the award was vitiated by patent illegality, noting that the arbitrator overlooked key provisions of the Contract Act and returned findings that did not align with the contractual record. The Bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Pradeep Mittal said the November 16, 2018 award was marked by fundamental errors. It pointed out that the arbitrator had...

Delhi High Court Orders Suspension Of Fake 'lumlkai.com' Domain Impersonating Lumikai

The Delhi High Court has recently granted an ex parte ad interim injunction in favour of Lumikai, a venture capital firm operating in interactive media and gaming, in a trademark suit. The court directed the suspension of the deceptively similar domain name “lumlkai.com”, observing that the plaintiffs had made out a prima facie case and that the impugned domain appeared to have been created to impersonate them and attempt to defraud. The order was passed by Justice Jyoti Singh. Lumikai...

Telangana HC Upholds ITAT Order Rectifying Contradiction That Allowed Both Taxpayer and Revenue Appeals

The Telangana High Court has upheld an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order that corrected its own contradictory ruling after it had simultaneously allowed both the assessee's and the Revenue's appeals on the very same issue. Holding that such an outcome was inherently inconsistent, a bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao observed the tribunal was justified in stepping in to resolve the contradiction, especially when it had already decided the issue on...

Search Under IT Act Is Person-Centric; Premises Don't Decide 'Searched Person': Karnataka High Court

Holding that a “searched person” under the Income Tax Act is determined by the person against whom statutory satisfaction is recorded and not by whose premises are searched, the Karnataka High Court on Friday ruled that a taxpayer cannot be treated as a searched person merely because a search was conducted at his premises.The ruling came in a case where the tax department initiated proceedings against the taxpayer under Section 153C based on documents seized during a search conducted at his...

Delhi High Court Revokes 'Shahi Dinner' Copyright Registration Over Lack Of Notice To Interested Party

The Delhi High Court has revoked a copyright registration for the artistic work “Shahi Dinner," used on rice packaging, after noting that the applicant failed to serve a mandatory statutory notice to a rival claimant who had asserted an interest in the same subject matter. Justice Jyoti Singh noted that providing notice to interested parties is a statutory mandate under Rule 70(9) of the Copyright Rules, 2013, and in the present case, non-compliance warranted setting aside the registration. ...

Uttarakhand High Court Sets Aside GST Order Passed Same Day As Reply, Calls Hearing An “Eyewash”

Observing that passing an adjudication order on the very same day as filing of reply without granting a meaningful opportunity of hearing violates principles of natural justice, the High Court of Uttarakhand set aside GST demand and penalty proceedings against Poddar Ispat Pvt. Ltd.The bench, consisting of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay, stated that the mere recording of a hearing on the date of filing a reply does not satisfy the requirement of a fair...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Use Of “Liv-82 DS” Mark, Protects Himalaya's 'Liv.52'

The Delhi High Court has stepped in to protect Himalaya's liver care brand “Liv.52”, granting an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against KBIR Wellness Private Limited and those acting on its behalf. The order restrains them from manufacturing, selling, advertising, or dealing in products under the mark “Liv-82 DS” or any deceptively similar name. Passing the order on April 21, 2026, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the resemblance between the rival marks, when seen alongside the overall...

Telangana HC Restores ₹168 Crore Award, Says Pending Plea No Bar To Consensual Appointment Of Arbitrator

The Telangana High Court has set aside a Commercial Court order that annulled a Rs. 168.36 crore arbitral award against the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and others in a contract dispute with Ramky Elsmex Hyderabad Ring Road Limited. The court held that the consensual appointment of a presiding arbitrator is not rendered invalid only because an application for such appointment was pending before the court.Rejecting the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's contention that...

Failure To Claim Tax Relief Doesn't Change Nature Of Salary Arrears: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has clarified that the non-claim of relief under Section 89 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 does not determine the nature of income and cannot be taken to mean that such income is not arrears.For context, Section 89 provides relief to taxpayers receiving salary arrears, advance salary, or profits in lieu of salary in a lump sum.A division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan was dealing with a petition challenging an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal...