All High Courts
Even Peripheral Question On Customs Duty Rate Can Take CESTAT Appeal To Supreme Court: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has held that even a peripheral question touching the rate of customs duty can fall outside the High Court's appellate jurisdiction. Such an appeal would lie directly before the Supreme Court under Section 130E of the Customs Act, 1962.A Division Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Farhan P. Dubash dismissed the Revenue's appeals against a CESTAT Mumbai order in favour of J M Baxi & Co. and others. The dispute concerned duty exemption on “stores” imported for...
Bombay High Court Says Income Tax Assessment Cannot Stand On Quashed Revision Order
The Bombay High Court has ruled that an assessment order cannot survive when the revision order on which it was based has already been quashed by the income tax tribunal.Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale observed that the Assessing Officer could not have proceeded with the assessment after the tribunal had quashed the underlying Section 263 order. The court also rejected the Revenue's contention that the pending challenge against the tribunal's decision changed this...
Punjab & Haryana High Court Disposes Sony India Plea Against 2006 VAT Entry Substitution
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has disposed of a plea filed by Sony India Private Limited concerning its claim for a concessional VAT rate of 4% on Digital Still Image Cameras, holding that the company was not prejudiced by the notification it had challenged.A bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Yashvir Singh Rathor observed that the expression “IT Products”, which formed the basis of Sony's claim for the concessional rate, continued to remain part of Entry No. 60...
Trademark Suits Cannot Be Tried By Courts Below District Court: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has ruled that a trademark infringement suit cannot be tried by a court below the District Court merely because its pecuniary value falls within the jurisdiction of a Munsiff Court.Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. held that “Given the above, the District Court, for the purposes of Section 134, has to be regarded as the lowest grade competent court to try a trade mark suit, under Section 15 CPC. To hold otherwise would result in a court inferior to the District Court ultimately...
Delhi High Court Says Failed Conciliation Talks Cannot Be Used To Decide Arbitration Claims
The Delhi High Court has ruled that material recorded during unsuccessful conciliation cannot later be relied upon to decide the same dispute in arbitration. Justice Avneesh Jhingan observed that the confidentiality of such proceedings must continue even after a settlement attempt fails.“The proceedings during conciliation cannot be considered and relied upon in case the arbitration of dispute is necessitated. The proceedings during conciliation are different but when an issue is contested equal...
Madras High Court Refuses Preethi Hospitals Permission To Sue Over 'S. Preethi' College Name
The Madras High Court has recently refused to grant leave to Madurai-based Preethi Hospitals Private Limited and Blossom Global Trust to sue an educational trust in Sivagangai over its use of the name “S. Preethi” for a group of colleges.Justice A.D. Maria Clete held that the applicants had not shown that any part of the cause of action arose within the court's Chennai jurisdiction. The court observed, “It is the act of the respondent pleaded to have been done within these local limits that the...
Karnataka High Court Quashes Orders Enforcing 2% Cess On Cinema Tickets, Allows Multiplexes' Plea
The Karnataka High Court has allowed a plea filed by the Multiplex Association of India and PVR INOX Limited against the enforcement of the 2% cess imposed on cinema tickets under the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Act, 2024. Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad held that the measures seeking to operationalise and enforce the cess could not be sustained as the 2024 Act had not been brought into force through a valid commencement notification under Section 1(2). The matter was first...
SEZ Units Cannot Be Denied Stamp Duty Exemption Due To Pre-Ordinance Lease: Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court on 2 September held that an SEZ unit cannot be denied exemption from stamp duty and registration fee merely because its lease deed was executed before the Gujarat Special Economic Zone Ordinance, 2004 came into force, where the investment was made on the basis of the State Government's earlier SEZ policy promising such fiscal incentives. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray dismissed the State Government's appeal against an order...
BECO's Ad Campaign Against HUL's Vim, Surf Excel Fails Permissible Comparative Advertising Test: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court on Thursday held that BECO's “War on What's Hidden” campaign against Hindustan Unilever's Vim and Surf Excel products prima facie fails the test of permissible comparative advertising.Justice A. J. Bhambhani granted HUL interim relief against the campaign.The advertisements included claims that Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) and Benzisothiazolinone (BIT) “can cause skin irritation & allergic reactions”, along with directions to “SWITCH TO BECO”.Kwick Living has been...
Delhi High Court Makes Biometric Aadhaar Authentication Mandatory For GST Registrations Nationwide
The Delhi High Court has directed authorities across the country not to allow any GST registration without biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, taking note of the continuing misuse of PAN and Aadhaar details of innocent persons for obtaining fraudulent GST registrations.The division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain passed the direction on September 8 after taking note of data placed before it showing thousands of fraudulent GST registrations and tax evasion running into...
Individual Notice To Partners Not Needed For Firm's Tax Recovery: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court on 24 August held that individual notice to partners is not required when the Income Tax Department initiates recovery proceedings against the assets of a defaulting partnership firm. It clarified that individual notice is necessary where recovery proceedings are initiated against the personal assets of an individual partner. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy disposed of four connected writ petitions concerning the recovery of income tax dues from RJK Investments and the...