Not-Producing Power Of Attorney Is A Curable Defect, Cannot Terminate Arbitration: Gujarat High Court

On 22 June, the Gujarat High Court held that non-production of a Power of Attorney in arbitral proceedings is a curable procedural defect and cannot, by itself, justify rejection of a claim or termination of arbitration proceedings. Justice Niral R. Mehta allowed a writ petition filed by a homebuyer and set aside an arbitral tribunal's order rejecting his claim against Shalin Infrastructure, restoring the arbitral proceedings. The Bench observed: “The jurisdiction vested in an arbitral...

Works Contract Disputes Must Go To Statutory Tribunal, Not Private Arbitration: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 19 June held that payment disputes arising from agreements which are, in substance, public works contracts cannot be referred to private arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and must instead be adjudicated by the Gujarat Public Works Contracts Disputes Arbitration Tribunal under the Public Works Contracts Disputes Arbitration Tribunal Act, 1992.Justice D.N. Ray dismissed a Section 11 petition filed by Soham Consultancy Services seeking...

Courts Cannot Interfere With NH Act Compensation Award Based On Section 26 RFCTLARR Assessment: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court on 8 June held that an arbitral award determining compensation under the National Highways Act, 1956 cannot be interfered with under Sections 34 and 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 where the Arbitrator has assessed market value in accordance with Section 26 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 based on the evidence on record. A Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice...

Gujarat High Court Quashes Reassessment After Escaped Income Falls Below ₹50 Lakh

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings against Touch Comm Tech Private Limited after finding that the alleged escaped income fell below ₹50 lakh, making the reopening time-barred. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the company's writ petition and set aside the order passed under Section 148A(d) along with the consequential reassessment notice. “Thus, it appears that in order to bring the assessment within the ambit of...

Survey-Based Reassessment Not Excluded From Settlement Under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has recently held that reassessment proceedings based on survey material are not excluded from the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024. The court observed that the revenue cannot import a restriction that does not appear in the statute. The Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024, was introduced by the Centre to reduce pending income-tax litigation by allowing eligible taxpayers to settle disputes and bring appeals to an end. A division bench of Justice A.S....

High-Value Bank Transactions Alone Cannot Justify Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court recently held that high-value transactions reflected in bank accounts, without any material showing that income had escaped assessment, cannot by themselves justify reopening an assessment. The court consequently quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against O3 Developers Pvt. Ltd. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati set aside reassessment notices and consequential orders issued against the company for AY 2019-20 and AY 2021-22. ...

Customs Cannot Apply Later Interim Order Retrospectively To Demand BIS Certification: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 15 June held that customs authorities cannot withhold imported consignments by retrospectively applying a subsequent interim order and insisting on Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for goods imported during a period when such certification was not mandatory. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed a petition filed by Hilotex International Pvt. Ltd., holding that customs authorities acted arbitrarily in placing imported...

Gujarat HC Quashes Reassessment, Holds No Escaped Income Exists Where MAT Liability Is Unchanged

The Gujarat High Court has quashed reassessment proceedings initiated against Pandesara Infrastructure Limited for Assessment Year 2020-21. The court found that the proposed recomputation of depreciation would not result in any income chargeable to tax escaping assessment. It also noted that the company's liability under the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) regime would remain unchanged. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the writ petition challenging...

Gujarat High Court Revives YMCA's ₹9.39 Crore Service Tax Refund Claim Rejected As Time-Barred

The Gujarat High Court has recently set aside an order rejecting the Young Men's Christian Association's refund claim for financial years 2009-10 to 2012-13 as time-barred and directed the authorities to reconsider the claim on merits. A division bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati was hearing a petition challenging an order that denied refund of ₹9.39 crore claimed by the association for FYs 2009-10 to 2012-13 while allowing a refund claim of ₹26.66 lakh for FY...

Gujarat High Court Temporarily Halts Arbitration Over Vapi Lakes Lease Agreements

The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed that no further proceedings be conducted in arbitration proceedings between Vapi Municipal Corporation and Shashijit Infra Projects Limited arising from lease agreements relating to Lakhamdev Lake, Dungra Lake, and Chala Lake in Vapi. The direction will remain in force until the next hearing before the Court on June 18. Justice L.S. Pirzada passed the order while issuing notice in petitions filed by the Municipal Corporation challenging the continuation...

Gujarat High Court Says GST Arrest Valid Though Verbatim Signed 'Reasons To Believe' Copy Was Not Supplied

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the arrest of a person accused in a fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket, holding that while an arrestee must be furnished the “reasons to believe” forming the basis of arrest to enable a legal challenge, failure to provide a verbatim signed copy of the Commissioner's internal note does not vitiate the arrest. "Therefore, this Court, is of the opinion that the 'reasons to believe' recorded by the Commissioner has been furnished to the petitioner, facilitating him...

Gir Forest Deputy Conservator Not Liable For Service Tax As Tour Operator, Performed Sovereign Functions: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed the Central Excise Department's appeals seeking to recover over ₹3.44 crore in service tax from the office of the Deputy Conservator of Forests over charges collected from tourists visiting Gir Forest, holding that the officer was performing sovereign governmental functions and could not be treated as a tour operator. “The respondent - Deputy Conservator of Forest was discharging his sovereign function which cannot be brought within the purview of Service...