Delhi High Court
India-Netherlands DTAA | AO Can't Use Reassessment To Cure Own Failure To Record On PE: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that an Assessing Officer (AO) cannot invoke reassessment proceedings under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act merely to make up for his own failure to record a finding on the existence of a Permanent Establishment (PE) in India, after having conducted an inquiry into the issue during the original assessment.The division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta made the observation while allowing a petition filed by Elsevier BV, a company incorporated...
HC Can't Bypass Customs Statutory Appeal Merely Due To Financial Hardship In Making Pre-Deposit: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that a taxpayer cannot bypass the statutory appellate mechanism under the Customs Act merely by citing financial hardship in complying with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain made the observation while dismissing a writ petition challenging ₹3 crore penalty imposed on a man in connection with an alleged attempt to export red sanders wood concealed beneath carpets."However, once the legislature has...
Taxpayer's Assignment To State Tax Administration Doesn't Bar DGGI's Pan-India Jurisdiction: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has reiterated that merely because a taxpayer is administratively assigned to the State tax administration, it does not bar the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) from exercising its pan-India jurisdiction to investigate alleged GST evasion.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain made the observation while dealing with a batch of petitions filed by a real estate company which has GST registrations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu...
Delhi High Court Upholds GST Circular Allowing Common Adjudication Of Composite SCNs Based On Highest Demand
The Delhi High Court has upheld the validity of a GST circular prescribing the 'highest amount of demand' criterion for selecting a Common Adjudicating Authority where a composite show-cause notice is issued to multiple noticees falling under different jurisdictions.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain held that the circular does not confer any fresh jurisdiction on an officer. Rather, it merely provides an administrative mechanism for selecting, from among officers who...
Advocate-Client Privilege Cannot Bar GST Search Of Advocate's Office If His Role Is Under Probe: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has upheld the search conducted by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department at an Advocate's office, including seizure of a CPU from his cabin, holding that advocate-client privilege cannot operate as an absolute bar against investigation into the conduct of the advocate himself where there is prima facie material indicating his possible involvement in the affairs under investigation.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain, however, clarified...
Time-Barred Customs Duty Can Be Adjusted From Voluntary Deposit If Importer Admitted Liability: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that although the limitation period under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962, bars the Revenue from initiating a fresh demand after the prescribed period, it does not prevent the authorities from appropriating an amount already voluntarily deposited by an importer during investigation towards the admitted customs duty liability.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain was dealing with a case arising from a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence...
Delhi High Court Orders Takedown Of Obscene Content In Actor Meenakshi Chaudhary's Personality Rights Suit
The court, however, left claims of commercial exploitation of her personality rights open, saying blanket relief could not be granted without evidence of actual monetisation.
Delhi High Court Sets Aside Interim Relief Allowing NBFC To Continue Business After RBI Cancels Registration
The Delhi High Court has set aside an interim order that allowed Reliant Credits (India) Limited, a non-deposit-taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), to continue its Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFI) business despite cancellation of its Certificate of Registration (CoR) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia held that the Single Judge had not adequately considered RBI's findings and the wider public...
Pre-Named Arbitrator Can Constitute Tribunal Only If Mutual Consent Continues: Delhi High Court
On 16 September, the Delhi High Court held that naming an arbitrator in an arbitration agreement may reflect the parties' mutual and continuing consent to his appointment. However, where one party alone appoints the named arbitrator after a dispute arises, the appointment must satisfy the safeguards under Section 12(5) read with the Seventh Schedule to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. A Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Shail Jain dismissed Matsya Fincap Pvt. Ltd.'s...
Two-Year Delay In Pronouncing Arbitral Award Not Enough To Set It Aside: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that a two-year delay in pronouncing an arbitral award cannot, by itself, be a ground to set aside the award unless the delay is unexplained and is shown to have adversely affected the findings.A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Vinod Kumar made the observation while setting aside a single judge's order.The order had set aside a ₹65.12 crore arbitral award in favour of Unison Hotels Private Limited against IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company...
Delhi High Court Restores Super Bazar Writ Petition Withdrawn On Former Liquidator's Instructions
On 15 September, the Delhi High Court recalled the 18 May 2018 order dismissing The Cooperative Store Limited (Super Bazar)'s writ petition as withdrawn, after finding that its former Official Liquidator, Dr. A.K. Mishra, lacked authority to instruct the withdrawal after his tenure ended. Justice Amit Mahajan held that an Official Liquidator cannot instruct withdrawal of a writ petition after his tenure has expired, particularly where the proceedings concern substantial public money. The Bench...
Delhi High Court Cancels 'LNK' Trademark Over Similarity With Basant Lal's 'L&K' Sanitary Products Mark
The Delhi High Court on 3 September cancelled the trademark “LNK”, registered by Shakti Hydraulic Engineers for sanitary products, after finding it deceptively similar to “L&K”, an older registered mark belonging to Basant Lal. Justice Jyoti Singh allowed Lal's petition and directed the Registrar of Trademarks to remove Shakti Hydraulic Engineers' “LNK” registration from the register and rectify it within eight weeks. The Bench observed: “LNK is deceptively similar, visually and...