Assessment Order Need Not Discuss Every Claim; Reopening Same Issue Is 'Change Of Opinion': Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has ruled that an income tax assessment cannot be reopened where the record shows that an issue was examined during scrutiny and the assessee's claim was accepted, even if the original assessment order did not expressly discuss the issue.The bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Farhan P. Dubash observed that “it is not necessary for an Assessing Officer to discuss each and every issue elaborately to disclose his satisfaction” when accepting an assessee's claim. The...

MSME Registration Cannot Revive Abandoned Arbitration Claims: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a supplier cannot revive claims abandoned in an earlier arbitration merely by subsequently obtaining registration under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that a party that did not challenge the termination of the earlier arbitration cannot use subsequent MSME registration to reopen the same claims.The court held, “Having not availed the same, in the opinion of this Court, a party cannot be...

CBIC Circular Cannot Override Provisional Release Of Seized Goods Under Customs Act: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has held that Customs authorities cannot deny provisional release of seized goods merely because an executive instruction places such goods outside the scope of provisional release. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary held that CBIC Circular No. 35/2017-Cus. dated 16.08.2017 cannot dilute the scope of Section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962, by prohibiting provisional release of goods notified under Section 123 of the Act. ...

Bombay High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Britannia Dairy Over Sale Of Unsafe Cheese Cubes

The Bombay High Court on Friday quashed criminal proceedings against Britannia Dairy Pvt Ltd over allegations of unsafe cheese cubes, finding that the company was denied key statutory safeguards.Britannia was notified nearly six months after the product's shelf life had expired, while the Food Analyst's report was never furnished to it.“Considering the aforenoted facts, submissions, and settled position of law, I am of the considered opinion that the Applicant has made out a fit case for this...

Substantial Question Of Law Essential For Appeal Under RERA Act: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that an appeal under Section 58 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is maintainable only where a substantial question of law arises, and that an order by which the Appellate Tribunal remands a matter to the Regulatory Authority, without finally determining the rights of either party, gives rise to no such question. Section 58 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 permits a person aggrieved by a decision or...

GST Act | Scrutiny Of Returns Under S. 61 Not A Precondition For Show Cause Notice Under S. 74A: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that scrutiny of returns under Section 61 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with Rule 99 of the CGST Rules, 2017, is not a mandatory step before the department issues a show cause notice under Section 74A of the Act. It held that where the notice rests on independent verification and not merely on discrepancies in the assessee's own returns, the department need not first call for the assessee's explanation under Section 61.The bench of Justice...

Tripura High Court Imposes ₹40,000 Costs On Four Homebuyers Over Parallel T-RERA, Municipal Body Proceedings

The Tripura High Court has imposed ₹40,000 in costs on four homebuyers over parallel proceedings concerning alleged unauthorised construction at an apartment complex in Agartala.The homebuyers had approached both the Tripura Real Estate Regulatory Authority (T-RERA) and the Agartala Municipal Corporation. They also filed an execution proceeding before T-RERA before approaching the High Court but did not disclose this fact.“It transpires that they have not approached this Court with clear hands,”...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Restrain Xiaomi From Using 'Find Device' Feature In Patent Dispute

The Delhi High Court has refused to restrain Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited from using its “Find Device” feature, finding that Conqueror Innovations Private Limited had not established a prima facie case of patent infringement. The court also held that Conqueror's approximately nine-year delay in approaching it was, by itself, enough to deny interim relief.A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora upheld the Single Judge's refusal to grant an...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Restraint On Arbitrator, Stresses Limited Judicial Intervention In Arbitration

The Calcutta High Court on Friday set aside an order of the Darjeeling District Judge restraining a Sole Arbitrator from proceeding with a pending application under Section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, holding that courts must exercise restraint in interfering with an ongoing arbitral process.A bench of Justice Ravi Kishan Kapur and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya was hearing an appeal against an order of the District Judge, Darjeeling, in a dispute between family...

Punjab & Haryana HC Strikes Down Section 147A Income Tax Act, Finds Faceless Reassessment Framework Remains Unchanged

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that the retrospective insertion of Section 147A could not validate reassessment notices issued by jurisdictional Assessing Officers when the statutory provision governing faceless reassessment under Section 151A remained unchanged.A Division Bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Rupinderjit Chahal accordingly struck down Section 147A as unconstitutional, holding that the provision did not cure the legal defect identified in earlier judicial...

Gujarat High Court Quashes GST Demand Against Environmental Entity, Holds Effluent Treatment Exempt

The Gujarat High Court has held that an environmental protection entity qualified for a nil GST rate on activities falling within charitable activities involving preservation of the environment. The court also found no deliberate intention to evade tax and quashed the show-cause notice issued by the GST authorities.A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the petition filed by Naroda Enviro Projects Ltd. and its co-petitioner. The dispute concerned GST...

Karnataka High Court Holds GST Payments Made During Investigation Were Not Voluntary, Orders Refund

The Karnataka High Court has directed the GST authorities to refund ₹53.97 lakh collected from a taxpayer during an investigation, holding that the payments could not be treated as voluntary payments under the GST law.Justice C.M. Poonacha observed that there was no material to show that the taxpayer had voluntarily ascertained his tax liability before making the payments. The Court also noted that no prior demand or assessment had been made before the payments and that the authorities had not...