Madras High Court Upholds Sales Tax Demand Against Ford India Over Breach of Exemption Conditions

The Madras High Court has upheld the levy of Tamil Nadu sales tax on Ford India, holding that the company breached the conditions of a state government notification granting a sales tax exemption on purchases of goods used for manufacturing passenger cars after availing the benefit by furnishing declarations.The dispute relates to the 2001-02 assessment yearThe exemption under G.O. Ms. No. 381 covered purchases of goods used in the manufacture, assembling, packing and labelling of passenger cars...

Gauhati High Court Rejects Hawkins Cookers' Plea To Compute VAT On Reduced Sale Price

The Gauhati High Court has held that Hawkins Cookers Ltd. must pay the balance 8.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) on the original sale price of pressure cookers after an earlier ruling held that the products attracted VAT at 12.5% before 2010 and not 4% as claimed by the company. Dismissing six revision petitions, the court rejected Hawkins' contention that the original sale consideration should be treated as inclusive of 12.5% VAT while computing the additional tax liabilityThe controversy was...

Himachal Pradesh High Court Refuses Interim Relief In SML Patent Infringement Suit Over Territorial Jurisdiction

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has recently refused interim relief to agricultural inputs company SML Limited in its patent infringement suit against Happy Agro Chemicals and others over the agricultural micronutrient product "SELZIC". The court held that the company failed to establish a prima facie case on territorial jurisdiction.Justice Sandeep Sharma held that the issue of territorial jurisdiction had to be decided before examining the allegations of patent infringement.SML holds an Indian...

Calcutta High Court Upholds GST Order Uploaded A Day After Limitation Expired

The Calcutta High Court has upheld a GST adjudication order even though its summary was uploaded on the common portal a day after the limitation period expired. The court held that the statutory limitation applies to the issuance of the order and not to its subsequent service. Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury dismissed a writ petition filed by M. M. Motors and another challenging an adjudication order for the 2018–19 tax period. The petitioners argued that the adjudication order could not be treated...

Arbitrator Can Pronounce Award Once Matter Is Reserved Despite Counsel's Withdrawal: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that a sole arbitrator can proceed to pronounce an arbitral award even if the respondents' counsel does not produce documents he had undertaken to file and later withdraws his vakalat, provided the matter has already been reserved for passing of the award. The court held that no further orders were required in the application and closed it. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed, "This Court is of the view that, when the matter had been reserved for passing of the...

Loan To Relative Despite Earlier Default Cannot Discredit Cheque Case Under NI Act: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 16 July held that a complainant's case under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (NI Act) cannot be disbelieved merely because she advanced a further loan to a relative despite an earlier loan remaining unpaid, or because the accused issued a typewritten cheque. Justice A Badharudeen set aside the Magistrate's acquittal order and convicted Sreekala, the accused, for cheque dishonour under Section 138 of the NI Act, holding that Shiny Nair, the...

Madras High Court Upholds 2014 Notification Granting Pan-India Powers To DGCEI Officers In Service Tax Cases

The Madras High Court has upheld a 2014 notification that authorised officers of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (now the Directorate General of GST Intelligence) to investigate service tax cases and issue show cause notices across India, regardless of where the taxpayer was located. The court held that the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) was empowered to confer all-India jurisdiction on Central Excise officers through notifications issued under the Finance...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains MDL Herbal From Using “HAJMOLA” Mark In Dispute With Dabur

The Delhi High Court on 8 July granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Dabur India Limited and restrained the proprietor of MDL Herbal Dhanvanatri Ayurvedic Mahamritunjay from using the mark “HAJMOLA” or any deceptively similar mark. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani held that Dabur had established a prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off. He observed:“In the opinion of this court, the plaintiff has made-out a prima facie case in its favour and against the...

Transit Pass Surrender Not Conclusive Proof Of Goods Movement, Doesn't Bar KVAT Penalty: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court on 15 July held that surrender of a transit pass under the Karnataka Value Added Tax (KVAT) Act does not conclusively establish genuine interstate movement of goods or prevent authorities from initiating penalty proceedings. A Division Bench of Justices S.G. Pandit and Dr. K. Manmadha Rao dismissed an appeal filed by Sri C. Girish, proprietor of Jai Gurudev Road Carriers, and upheld the penalty imposed under Section 53(12) of the KVAT Act (which provides for penalty...

Delhi High Court Rules Section 43(3) Of Arbitration Act Cannot Save Void Arbitration Clause

The Delhi High Court has recently held that a provision empowering courts to extend the contractual time for commencing arbitration in cases of undue hardship cannot, by itself, validate a contractual clause that is otherwise void under the law.Referring to Section 43(3) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, the court observed,"The provision does not validate or positively enact the enforceability of contractual time-bar clauses. It addresses only the limited question of whether a court...

Karnataka High Court Holds CESTAT Must Decide Limitation Plea Before Remanding Excise Matter

The Karnataka High Court on 2 July held that the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) must decide a specifically pleaded limitation objection before remanding an excise dispute for adjudication on merits, as accepting the limitation plea could make further proceedings unnecessary. A Division Bench of Justices S.G. Pandit and Rajesh Rai K. disposed of the appeal filed by Lotus Printers Private Limited and directed CESTAT to decide the limitation issue while keeping its...

Delhi High Court Protects “BATA” From Counterfeiters, Directs Flipkart To Remove Infringing Listings

The Delhi High Court on 8 July granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction in favour of Bata India Limited, restraining the two individuals from selling or promoting footwear under the BATA trademark.A Bench of Justice Jyoti Singh also directed Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. to remove the infringing listings, holding that identical marks and identical goods are likely to cause confusion and constitute prima facie infringement and passing off. She observed: “The marks being identical and the rival...