Gujarat High Court Refuses To Quash Case Over Fake Honda Parts, Says Logo Can Be Copyrighted

On 30 September, the Gujarat High Court refused to quash a criminal case against businessman Atul Bhalerao Patil over the seizure of counterfeit Honda scooter accessories and 250 loose stickers bearing the Honda Wing Logo. Justice P. M. Raval dismissed Patil's petition after police seized duplicate Honda Activa accessories worth over Rs. 7 lakh, including goods worth Rs. 4,65,650 from his unit in Ahmedabad, along with the stickers. The Bench observed: “Where the accused is found in possession...

Delhi High Court Questions Income Tax Dept. Over Two PANs Issued In Same Person's Name, Seeks Records

The Delhi High Court has questioned the Income Tax Department over the issuance of two Permanent Account Numbers (PANs) in the name of the same person and directed the Department to produce the original records relating to both PAN cards.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary was hearing a petition filed by Neeraj Kukreja, who claimed that he holds only one PAN and had neither applied for nor obtained the second PAN attributed to him. The Income Tax Department however...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With 2003 Customs Notice To Mangali Impex, Cites SC's Canon India Ruling

The Delhi High Court has declined to interfere with a 2003 show cause notice issued by the Customs Department to Mangali Impex Ltd., holding that the issue of whether the officer who issued the notice was the “proper officer” has already been settled by the Supreme Court in favour of the department.The Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Shail Jain was hearing a petition challenging the show cause notice issued by the Assistant Commissioner, Special Intelligence & Investigation...

Delhi HC Quashes 2005-06 VAT Demand Against Builder Over Lack Of Taxable Turnover Rules

The Delhi High Court has quashed a Value Added Tax (VAT) demand raised against a builder for the assessment year 2005-06, holding that the levy could not be enforced in the absence of machinery provisions prescribing the manner of determining taxable turnover for works contracts.The Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Shail Jain allowed the petition filed by a builder, challenging demand and notice of default assessment.The Court noted that two issues arose for consideration: whether...

Madras High Court Refuses To Transfer 'RIO' Trade Mark Suit For Joint Trial With Rectification Plea

The Madras High Court on 30 September dismissed Rio Children's Hospital Pvt Ltd's plea to transfer its trade mark infringement and passing off suit against Rajesh Jayaraj from the Principal District Court, Madurai, to the High Court's Intellectual Property Division for joint trial with a rectification petition concerning the “RIO” mark. Justice A.D. Maria Clete held that Rule 14 of the Madras High Court Intellectual Property Division Rules, 2022 cannot be invoked “as a matter of course” merely...

No Limitation To Claim Delay Interest Where Allottee Continues With Project: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 23 September held that an allottee who continues with a real estate project can claim interest for every month of delay in possession, as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 prescribes no limitation for raising such a claim. A Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar dismissed Antriksh Developers and Promoters Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal against the U.P. Real Estate Appellate Tribunal's direction to pay delay interest, holding that the expression “demand” in the...

Mere Excise Registration Lapse Not Wilful Suppression If Dept. Knew About Unit: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 25 September held that the extended five-year limitation period under the proviso to Section 11-A(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 cannot be invoked merely because a manufacturer failed to register or produce declarations, where the department already knew about his manufacturing unit and the goods manufactured there. Justice Irshad Ali quashed the demand of Rs.6,27,086/- in Additional Excise Duty and the equivalent penalty imposed on Siraj Ahmad, proprietor of...

UPVAT| Joint Commissioner Can't Revise Order Without Commissioner's Authorisation: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 11 September held that the Joint Commissioner (Executive) cannot exercise revisional powers under Section 56(1) of the U.P. VAT Act, 2008 without an order of authorisation by the Commissioner, Commercial Tax. Proceedings initiated by an unauthorised officer are without jurisdiction and void ab initio. Justice Piyush Agrawal allowed Sai Baba Ent Bhatta's revision against the order of the Commercial Tax Tribunal, Kanpur, holding that there was nothing on record to show...

Word 'Arbitration' In Brief Clause Can Be Sufficient To Show Intention To Arbitrate: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a brief arbitration clause can constitute a valid and binding arbitration agreement even when it does not use words such as “shall” or “will” to expressly require disputes to be referred to arbitration.Justice Amit Borkar observed, “The Court is not adding the word 'shall' to the contract as a new term. The Court is trying to understand the words already written in the Purchase Order in their ordinary commercial setting. The word 'Arbitration', along with the...

Gulf Trade Disruptions: Rajasthan HC Issues Notice On MSME's Challenge To RELIEF Scheme Cut-Off Date

The Rajasthan High Court has recently issued notices to the government on a petition challenging the cut-off under Component III of the Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation (RELIEF) Scheme, which restricts reimbursement support to shipments having Onboard Bills of Lading issued between February 14, 2026 and March 15, 2026.A Division Bench of Justices Inderjeet Singh and Sandeep Taneja was hearing a petition filed by Agrim Overseas, an MSME exporter of perishable...

Madras High Court Says Precision Instruments Used In Manufacturing Eligible For 3% Sales Tax Rate

The Madras High Court has held that precision instruments such as Vernier Calipers, Depth Gauges and Cylinder Gauges used by manufacturers in Tamil Nadu qualify for a 3% concessional tax rate when sold against Form XVII declarations, even though the instruments are not consumed in the manufacturing processA Division Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice E. Manoharan observed that the benefit under Section 3(3) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 extends to “any goods” used in...

Gujarat HC Allows Plea To Condone Delay In Filing Income Tax Return Despite Pending Appeal Against Assesment

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that the rejection of a taxpayer's application seeking condonation of delay in filing an income tax return can be examined even after an assessment order has been passed and an appeal against it is pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).“We do not subscribe to the objection raised by the Revenue since it is an admitted position that the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) does not have the power in condoning the delay and the remedy invoked by...