Rajasthan High Court Upholds TDS Disallowance Against Hindustan Zinc On UK Know-How Payment

The Rajasthan High Court on 5 September dismissed Hindustan Zinc Limited's appeal against an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal order sustaining the disallowance of a tax deduction claimed by the company for payment made towards technical know-how to a UK-based company. A Division Bench comprising Justices Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Praveer Bhatnagar upheld the disallowance for Assessment Year 1994-95, holding that the payment made to Davy McKee (Stockton) Limited (DML) was subject to tax deduction...

Bombay High Court Restrains Sale Of Counterfeit 'CLEAR' Packaged Drinking Water

The Bombay High Court has restrained a Karnataka-based business from using the “CLEAR/CLEAR AQUA IND” mark after finding the impugned products to be counterfeit. The court had earlier observed that “AQUA IND” was shown in negligible font while prominence was given to “CLEAR”, and that the rival products had identical bottle shapes, label marks, colour schemes and placement of features.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar allowed Energy Beverages Pvt. Ltd.'s interim application in terms of prayers (a) to (e)...

Authority Letter Allowing Partner To “Deal” With Firm Property Not Blanket Sale Power: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that an authority letter allowing a partner to “deal” with partnership property cannot by itself be treated as a blanket power to sell or transfer the firm's immovable properties.The court observed that the authority letters gave the partner “authority of some substance”, but did not confer an unrestricted power to sell or transfer the firm's immovable properties.Justice Amit Borkar, while deciding a plea under the Arbitration Act seeking interim relief...

Meghalaya High Court Sets Aside Service Tax Demand Over 8.5-Year Adjudication Delay

The Meghalaya High Court has recently set aside a service tax demand against the Assam Rifles Group Insurance Scheme (ARGIS). It held that the Revenue authorities could not justify taking nearly 8.5 years to adjudicate the show-cause notice.The Division Bench of Justice H.S. Thangkhiew and Justice B. Bhattacharjee observed that the delay was “undue and unexplained”. It held that the order passed after such a delay violated Section 73(4B)(b) of the Finance Act, 1994, and was “arbitrary and bad in...

Telangana High Court Quashes ₹52.39 Crore VAT Demand On TCS's Customised Software Services

The Telangana High Court has set aside a ₹52.39 crore Value Added Tax (VAT) demand imposed on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).It held that transactions involving the development of custom-made or customised software did not constitute a sale where TCS did not acquire ownership or title over the software. The Court found that there was no transfer of property in goods.A Division Bench comprising Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda passed the common order. It allowed the lead...

Consolidated GST Notice For Multiple Years Valid, But Liability Must Be Decided Separately: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court has ruled that while the GST department can issue a consolidated show-cause notice covering multiple financial years, it must determine the tax liability separately for each year and apply the provision applicable to that period.“The authorities are therefore required to determine the liability separately for each financial year, apply the provision applicable to that year, and examine the question of limitation and the ingredients necessary for invoking the respective...

Delhi High Court Upholds BAI Impleadment In CCI's Grey Cement Cartel Probe, Dismisses UltraTech Appeal

The Delhi High Court has dismissed UltraTech Cement Ltd.'s appeal against the Competition Commission of India's decision to implead the Builders Association of India (BAI) in its suo motu probe into alleged cartelisation and price manipulation by grey cement manufacturers. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia dismissed UltraTech's appeal against the Single Judge's order upholding the CCI's decision. TheCourt held that any entity with...

Nehle Pe Dehla Rights Row: Bombay High Court Awards ₹1.92 Crore To Ultra Distributors

The Bombay High Court has declared Ultra Distributors Pvt. Ltd. the sole and exclusive holder of the video, cable television and video-on-demand rights to the 1976 Bollywood film Nehle Pe Dehla, starring Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna and Saira Banu. Justice Arif S. Doctor held that the March 31, 2005 agreement under which Dhariwal Films assigned these rights to Ultra was valid and binding.The court also held that Dhariwal Films failed to provide Ultra with Digibeta Master tapes of commercially...

Customs Must Establish Foreign Origin Before Presuming Goods Were Smuggled: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently held that the burden of proof under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962, does not shift to the person from whom goods are seized unless the customs authorities first establish that the goods are of foreign origin and were smuggled into India. it held that where nothing on the record connects the goods to smuggling, the presumption cannot be pressed into service at all. The Court applied the rule to silver bullion and to Indian...

Sale Of Counterfeit Apple Accessories Cannot Be Prosecuted As Copyright Offence: Gujarat High Court Quashes FIR

The Gujarat High Court on Monday quashed a copyright infringement FIR against a shopkeeper accused of selling counterfeit Apple accessories, ruling that the allegations essentially concerned trademark misuse rather than copyright infringement.Justice P.M. Raval observed that the FIR and seizure memo did not identify any specific literary or artistic work allegedly copied from Apple. “The dispute essentially pertains to the alleged falsification of a registered trademark on commercial...

Delhi High Court Blocks Websites Offering Fake MG Motor Dealerships, Orders ₹14.55 Lakh Lien

The Delhi High Court has recently blocked three websites allegedly being used to impersonate MG Motor and offer fake car dealerships to the public. Justice Jyoti Singh restrained those operating the websites from using MG's trademarks and branding or from claiming to represent the company or its agents.The court also directed the concerned domain registrars to suspend the three websites within 36 hours of receiving the order. Indian Overseas Bank was directed to mark a lien on the bank account...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Mandates CIN, DIR-12 For Cheque-Bounce Complaints Against Companies

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently directed that, from now on, cheque-bounce complaints against companies must carry the company's Corporate Identification Number (CIN) and a certified copy of Form DIR-12. The documents must help establish that the persons being arraigned were actually responsible for the company's affairs when the cheque was issued or dishonoured.The CIN is the company's unique identification number. The court wants it to be taken from the Ministry of Corporate...