Gujarat High Court Sets Aside TDS Order For Failure To Apply 'Make Available' Test Under India–Singapore DTAA

The Gujarat High Court has recently set aside a tax deduction at source order against Solvay Specialities India, holding that the Income Tax Department failed to apply the mandatory “make available” test under the India–Singapore tax treaty. Under this test, tax authorities are required to first determine whether the foreign service provider actually passed on any technical knowledge, skill, or know-how in a way that allows the Indian company to use it independently in the future. Without...

Technical Member Mandatory: Madhya Pradesh High Court Sets Aside REAT Order Passed By Two-Member Bench

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently set aside an order of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal after finding that it was passed by an improperly constituted Bench. The court held that the Tribunal decided the case without the participation of a Technical Member, a requirement mandated by law. Such an order, it said, cannot stand. “As per the provisions of Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the Appellate Tribunal must consist of the Chairman and two...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside Order Treating WBIDC As Unsecured Creditor In Eastern Explosives Liquidation

The Calcutta High Court has recently set aside an order of a single judge of the court's original side, which upheld the official liquidator's decision treating the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (WBIDC) as an unsecured creditor in the liquidation of Eastern Explosives and Chemicals Ltd.The Court held that once charge documents were submitted prior to adjudication of claims, the official liquidator was bound to consider WBIDC as a secured creditor.“A creditor, of a company...

Madras High Court Rules Against 7-Eleven in 'Big Bite' Trademark Battle With Indian Company

The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a batch of appeals filed by a global retail giant, 7-Eleven International LLC, upholding the “Big Bite” trademark in favour of an Indian company, Ravi Foods Private Limited.The court held that "there is no material to show that the appellant has done business on Indian soil, with the aforesaid mark, on the date of the application or at any subsequent point of time prior to the commencement of opposition proceedings."Justice N. Anand Venkatesh, in its...

Delhi High Court Quashes Transfer Pricing Order After TPO Failed To Share Agreements Relied Upon

The Delhi High Court has recently has held that a Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) is bound to furnish copies of agreements relied upon for benchmarking before finalising a transfer pricing adjustment.A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar observed, “It is the settled position of law that any authority is bound to provide copies of the relied upon documents.”The court was dealing with a writ petition challenging a transfer pricing order, whereby the TPO relied on third-party...

Housing Society Bound By Arbitration Clause In Individual Sale Agreements: Bombay High Court

On 10 February, the Bombay High Court held that a co-operative housing society, although a distinct legal entity, is a “veritable party” to the agreements signed by its individual members and is therefore bound by the arbitration clauses embedded within them. The Single Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, emphasised that when a society is formed specifically to represent the collective interests of homebuyers, it inherits the obligations of arbitration contained in the individual sale...

Affiliation Fees Collected By Universities Liable To GST: Madras High Court

On Wednesday, the Madras High Court held that affiliation fees collected by universities from affiliated colleges are liable to GST and are not exempt under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). A Division Bench of Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice K.K. Ramakrishnan delivered the ruling. The judges were hearing a writ petition filed by Bharathidasan University, challenging the GST demand notices issued for the assessment years 2019-2020 to 2022-23. They held: "In India, there are...

No Vested Right To Redeem Confiscated Prohibited Goods Under Customs Act: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that redemption of confiscated goods under Section 125 of the Customs Act, 1962 is not a vested or automatic right, particularly where the goods are prohibited for import.Dismissing the writ petition filed by an importer challenging the absolute confiscation of areca nuts, the division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed,“Section 125(1) of the Customs Act employs the expression “may”, thereby conferring discretion upon the...

Delhi High Court Closes COBADEX Trademark Case After GlaxoSmithKline Settles With Mensa Futura

The Delhi High Court has recently disposed of a trademark suit filed by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited, a major Indian pharmaceutical company, after it reached a settlement with Mensa Futura Life Sciences over the use of the 'COBADEX' brand and look-alike packaging.Under the settlement, Mensa Futura agreed to permanently stop using the mark 'CUBANEX-CZS' and any deceptively similar mark or packaging, consented to a permanent injunction in favour of GlaxoSmithKline, and undertook to...

Disputes From Residential Real-Estate Development Can Be Commercial If Profit Oriented: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently observed that a real estate development agreement can qualify as a commercial dispute even if the project is residential in nature and even if both parties are not engaged in the business.Justice Shampa Sarkar said the agreement, when read as a whole, showed that the property was meant to be commercially exploited. “The cumulative effect of the agreement was that the parties jointly agreed to put the property to commercial use, thereby earning from the...

Delhi High Court Restrains 'SUPERON' Trademark Use, Orders Takedown Of Infringing Websites

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of Sanjay Mehra, proprietor of the registered “SUPERON” trademark, restraining a Gurugram-based entity from using the mark or any deceptively similar name of the stainless steel consumables brand. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela passed the order on February 4, 2026, directing the entity's proprietor to immediately cease using the "SUPERON" name in any capacity, whether as a trade name, domain name, or email...

Calcutta High Court Refers Reliance Entities' Telecom Tower Lease Dispute To Arbitration, Leaves Objections Open

The Calcutta High Court has referred a telecom tower lease dispute to arbitration. It declined to decide, at the referral stage, whether non-signatory Reliance group entities were bound by the arbitration clause or whether past dues stood extinguished under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Justice Shampa Sarkar held that such objections raise triable jurisdictional issues. These must be decided by the arbitral tribunal. The court reiterated that its role under Section 11 of the...