Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment After Escaped Income Falls Below ₹50 Lakh

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings against Touch Comm Tech Private Limited after finding that the alleged escaped income fell below ₹50 lakh, making the reopening time-barred. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the company's writ petition and set aside the order passed under Section 148A(d) along with the consequential reassessment notice. “Thus, it appears that in order to bring the assessment within the ambit of...

Excluded Period Need Not Overlap With Limitation Period To Be Excluded In Arbitral Award Execution: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has held that, for the purpose of excluding a period while computing limitation, it is not necessary that the limitation period should have commenced or expired during the period sought to be excluded. Observing that "the period excluded has to be simply excluded", the court ruled that the period excluded by the Supreme Court during the COVID-19 pandemic must be left out while calculating the limitation for the execution of an arbitral award. Justice Abhay Ahuja made the...

Officers Skipping Mandatory Learning Expose Bank To Risks: Calcutta HC Upholds SBI Reimbursement Policy.

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the State Bank of India's decision to withhold certain reimbursements from officers who fail to complete mandatory learning programmes. The Court observed that employees who do not update themselves expose the bank to risks relating to money laundering and cyber fraud. Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury, in a judgment delivered on June 18, dismissed a petition filed by the All India State Bank Officers Federation challenging SBI circulars issued in 2021 that linked...

Arbitral Award Based On Undisclosed Material Violates Principles Of Natural Justice: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 8 June held that an arbitral award becomes patently illegal when the tribunal relies on material not disclosed to a party or taken from external sources without granting an opportunity to respond. Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh while hearing a petition filed by Eicher Motors Ltd. (Eicher), set aside an award granting interest and costs in favour of Ashutosh Ranjit Majumdar after finding that the tribunal relied on undisclosed Yahoo Finance data while computing...

Directions To NCLT For Urgent Listing Of Plea Cannot Be Issued In Writ Jurisdiction: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently refused to issue directions to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for urgent listing of a homebuyer's transfer plea in an ongoing insolvency proceeding. The court observed that such directions cannot be issued in exercise of its writ jurisdiction. A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia dismissed a petition filed by homebuyer Anuj Goyal and imposed costs of ₹25,000, payable to the Delhi High Court Bar Clerks' Association within two weeks. “Such...

Notice Issued In Name Of Non-Existing Entity Vitiates Entire Arbitral Process: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has held that a statutory notice issued in the name of a non-existing entity is a nullity and vitiates the entire arbitral process. The court made the observation while setting aside an arbitral tribunal's order passed in proceedings initiated on the basis of a Section 21 notice issued to a dissolved company. A division bench of Justice K. Lakshman and Justice B.R. Madhusudhan Rao observed, “Any statutory notice issued in the name of a non-existing entity is a nullity...

Association's Unilateral Arbitrator Appointment Under Bye-Laws Violates Public Policy: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on 8 June held that an arbitral award passed by an arbitrator unilaterally appointed under an association's bye-laws, despite the absence of an arbitration agreement and where one party was not a member of the association, is contrary to Section 12(5) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and the public policy of India. Justice Gauri Godse allowed a petition filed by Traviera Silk Mills and set aside an arbitral award passed in favour of Toto Toya Spin under the...

Survey-Based Reassessment Not Excluded From Settlement Under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has recently held that reassessment proceedings based on survey material are not excluded from the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024. The court observed that the revenue cannot import a restriction that does not appear in the statute. The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024, was introduced by the Centre to reduce pending income-tax litigation by allowing eligible taxpayers to settle disputes and bring appeals to an end. A division bench of Justice A.S....

High-Value Bank Transactions Alone Cannot Justify Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court recently held that high-value transactions reflected in bank accounts, without any material showing that income had escaped assessment, cannot by themselves justify reopening an assessment. The court consequently quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against O3 Developers Pvt. Ltd. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati set aside reassessment notices and consequential orders issued against the company for AY 2019-20 and AY 2021-22. ...

Employee Secondment Payments To EY US Satisfy 'Make Available' Test, Taxable As FTS: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on thursday held that payments made by Indian entities to a foreign company for the secondment of employees can be taxed as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) under the India-US Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) if the arrangement satisfies the "make available" test by transferring technical knowledge, skill, or experience to the Indian entity.A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Vinod Kumar allowed appeals filed by the Revenue against Ernst & Young...

Dedicated Ethanol Plants Cannot Be Disadvantaged After Investing Under Procurement Framework: Karnataka High Court

Dedicated ethanol plants that were set up to exclusively supply Oil Marketing Companies and invested substantial sums on the basis of long-term assurances cannot be denied the benefit of that framework without scrutiny, the Karnataka High Court has held. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the ruling while allowing a petition filed by VINP Distilleries and Sugars Pvt. Ltd. against Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. The dispute...

Bombay High Court Grants Injunction Against 'Mefial-Spas' For Infringing Blue Cross's 'Meftal-Spas' Mark

The Bombay High Court has permanently restrained Alto Healthcare Private Limited and its manufacturer from using the mark "MEFIAL-SPAS" and associated packaging. The court found that the mark was deceptively similar to Blue Cross Laboratories' registered trademarks and artistic work used for its "MEFTAL-SPAS" product. Justice Arif S. Doctor delivered the judgment on June 17. The Court also directed each defendant to pay costs of ₹5 lakh to Blue Cross Laboratories within eight weeks. If the...