Madras High Court Holds Cut Tobacco Processed With Jaggery Water Is Unmanufactured Tobacco

The Madras High Court has recently held that cut tobacco processed by curing with jaggery water and sold in cut form would be classifiable as unmanufactured tobacco, setting aside advance rulings that had described it as manufactured chewing tobacco and subjected it to a higher compensation cess under GST.The court set aside the rulings of the Authority for Advance Ruling and the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, as well as a single judge's order that had upheld the description of the...

Madras High Court Upholds Partial Setting Aside Of Arbitral Awards In Railway Contracts Dispute, Cites GCC Bars

The Madras High Court recently upheld the partial setting aside of arbitral awards in a railway contracts dispute, holding that claims granted by an arbitral tribunal contrary to express contractual prohibitions under the General Conditions of Contract (GCC) are unsustainable.The court also observed that, in the facts of the case, the contractor's issuance of a “No Claim Certificate” and the agreed GCC clauses barred it from raising further claims against the Railways. A Division Bench of...

Himachal Pradesh High Court Sets Aside “Incomprehensible” Single Judge Order Modifying Arbitral Award

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has set aside a Single Judge's order modifying an arbitral award in a dispute over the supply of Anganwadi kits, holding that the judgment was incomprehensible and lacked clear reasoning. The court remanded the matter for fresh adjudication. The Bench of Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi emphasised the need for clarity in judicial writing. It observed, “A judgment culminates in a conclusion. Its contents represent the basis for...

Delhi High Court Upholds Injunction Against Flipkart's 'MARQ' Mark in Trademark Dispute

The Delhi High Court has recently upheld an interim injunction against e-commerce platform Flipkart, finding that its mark “MARQ” used for electrical appliances is phonetically, structurally, and visually similar to Marc Enterprises' registered mark “MARC” and likely to cause confusion among consumers. A single-judge bench of Justice Tejas Karia held that the order of the trial court did not suffer from any arbitrariness or perversity and therefore warranted no interference. The Court observed:...

Delhi HC Dismisses GST Dept Review, Says It Could Have Withdrawn SCN Instead Of Inviting Order On Merits

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the GST Department against an earlier ruling restricting retrospective cancellation of a firm's GST registration. The court observed that in the facts of the case, the Department, having chosen to invite a decision on merits instead of withdrawing the defective show cause notice and seeking liberty to issue a fresh one, could not subsequently seek to reopen the issue in review jurisdiction.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo...

Delhi High Court Quashes State GST Order Citing Overlapping Proceedings With CGST Authority

The Delhi High Court has quashed an order passed by the State GST Authority against an engineering firm, holding that in the facts of the case, where proceedings had already been initiated earlier by the Central GST authority and involved overlapping entities, the State authority ought not to have proceeded further having regard to the mandate of Section 6 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul was dealing with a...

MP High Court Sets Aside Commercial Tax On Diamond Cement For Sale Of Food In Factory Canteen

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has, applying settled law, set aside the levy of commercial tax on subsidised food supplied in a factory canteen run as a statutory welfare measure in a 1995–96 assessment involving Diamond Cement, while upholding the rest of the demand.The court, however, upheld tax liability on scrap sales, coal purchases, and denial of set-off on certain items.The bench, consisting of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal, partly allowed the writ petition filed by...

Delay In GST Appeal Condonable On Showing Sufficient Cause: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 17 April, held that a short delay in filing an appeal under the GST regime can be condoned if the appellant demonstrates “sufficient cause”, and that appellate authorities must apply their mind to the reasons instead of mechanically rejecting appeals on limitation. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Pranav Trivedi allowed the writ petition filed by Manjulaben Vinod Patel and quashed the appellate order rejecting the appeal as time-barred. The judges...

Depreciation In Sale–Leaseback Cannot Be Denied On Mere Suspicion: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 20 April 2026 held that under the Income Tax Act, 1961, a taxpayer is entitled to claim deduction of accrued construction expenses and depreciation arising from sale and leaseback transactions. It ruled that such transactions cannot be treated as colourable devices merely because they result in tax advantages. A Division Bench comprising Justices G. Jayachandran and Shamim Ahmed dismissed the appeals filed by the Income Tax Department under Section 260-A and affirmed...

Delhi High Court Directs Mediation For Cooperative Society Disputes 170 Cases Identified For Settlement

The Delhi High Court recently directed mediation of pending cooperative society disputes, identifying around 170 cases for settlement, following the protocol adopted in earlier special mediation drives. The exercise will be carried out in coordination with SAMADHAN, the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre, and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS). A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain noted that such disputes remain pending for years despite...

Conditional Land Tax Acceptance Unsustainable Without Civil Court Adjudication: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 5 March held that the State cannot impose conditions while accepting land tax that create a cloud over title, as such disputes require adjudication by a competent civil court and cannot be decided through administrative endorsements. A Division Bench comprising Justices Anil K. Narendran and Muralee Krishna S set aside the condition in Order G.O.(Ms.)No.172/2019/Rev. dated 6 June 2019 and declined to direct unconditional acceptance of land tax, while permitting the...

Arbitration Clause Can't Be Ousted By Specific Performance Clause In Contract: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a clause allowing a civil suit for specific performance does not override a clear arbitration clause between parties, appointing an arbitrator to resolve a land dispute after rejecting objections of coercion and invalidity. Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri said, “When in an agreement, there exists a specific clause pertaining to arbitration, which remains undisputed then the mere fact that there is some other clause providing entitlement to file a...