Amendment Allowing Customs Duty Exemption For Machinery Installed In Premises Applies Retrospectively: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that an amendment to a customs exemption notification under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, which allowed installation of imported machinery in the importer's “factory or premises," will apply retrospectively, and exemption cannot be denied merely because the machinery was installed outside the factory. Allowing an importer's appeal, a Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi observed that the benefit earlier denied due...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside GST Order After Taxpayer's Request For Personal Hearing Was Ignored

The Gujarat High Court has set aside an adjudication order passed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice, holding that failure to grant a personal hearing despite specific requests vitiates the proceedings. A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi was dealing with a writ petition filed by K.D. Engineers challenging an order-in-original dated August 20, 2025, and a consequential demand...

Indemnity Bond Not Required When Succession Certificate Is Filed Under IEPF Rules: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 9 March held that where a claimant has already furnished a valid succession certificate under the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Rules for transfer of shares, an indemnity bond cannot be insisted upon. Justice Hemant M Prachchhak observed that the requirement to furnish an indemnity bond arises only in the absence of documents such as a succession certificate, and authorities cannot impose additional conditions not contemplated under the Rules. He noted:...

Gujarat HC Refuses Injunction In 'Shree Kshetrapal' Trademark Dispute, Imposes ₹50 Thousand Costs For Suppression

The Gujarat High Court on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by Anil Gopalji Thacker, upholding a trial court's refusal to grant an interim injunction against Davda Jaydeepkumar Jagdishchandra for using the trade name “Kshetrapal Construction.”In a judgment delivered on March 16, 2026, Justice Niral R. Mehta held that the applicant was not entitled to equitable relief because he had suppressed material facts regarding a prior business relationship with the rival developer. The court observed that...

Gujarat High Court Rejects Delayed Challenge To Arbitral Award Over No Plea Of Non-Delivery Of Signed Copy

The Gujarat High Court recently observed that a party challenging an arbitral award cannot seek to overcome limitation by claiming that it came to know of the award during execution proceedings, if its Section 34 application does not contain a clear and categorical plea that the signed copy of the award had never been delivered to it as required under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray made the observation while dismissing...

Gujarat High Court Grants Interim Relief To Export Units In Kandla SEZ From Cess Liability

The Gujarat High Court on 26 February, held that Esskay Niryat Corporation and RR Exports operating from the Kandla Special Economic Zone (SEZ), are protected from coercive action under the Health Security and National Security Cess Act, 2025, while the matter is pending before the Court. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi, while hearing petitions filed by the two units, granted interim relief by staying recovery steps and issued notice to the Union...

Search Year Must Be Included While Computing 10-Year Block For Reassessment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 9 March, held that while computing the extended ten-year block period for reassessment in search cases, the assessment year relevant to the previous year in which the search is conducted (search assessment year) must be included in the computation. The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi quashed the notice issued to Dilipbhai Prabhudas Patel (petitioner) under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act. The Bench held: "The statutory...

Gujarat High Court Upholds DRI Seizure Of Imported Industrial Oil, Says Product Most Akin To Restricted Diesel Fuel

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the seizure of imported consignments declared as “industrial oil," holding that the product was most akin to Automotive Diesel Fuel (ADF) / High Flash High Speed Diesel (HFHSD), which are restricted commodities importable only through State Trading Enterprises under the import policy.The Division Bench comprising Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed multiple writ petitions filed by importers, including Deep International (petitioner),...

Transfer Of Self-Generated Trademark Before April 2002 Not Taxable As Capital Gains: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that money received from transferring a self-generated trademark before 2002 cannot be taxed as capital gains, as the law allowing such taxation came into force only later. The Court noted that Section 55(2) of the Income Tax Act was amended with effect from April 1, 2002, to allow taxation of transfers of trademarks by treating their cost of acquisition as nil, and the amendment cannot apply to earlier transactions.A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S....

Rebate Cannot Be Denied On Procedural Lapses If Export Duty Payments Are Undisputed: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 20 February, held that a rebate of central excise duty on exported goods cannot be denied merely due to procedural lapses, such as non-submission of original ARE-1 documents, when the fact of export and payment of duty is otherwise established through supporting records. A Division Bench of Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi allowed the writ petition filed by Ashland India Private Limited, setting aside orders that had rejected the company's rebate claim...

CIT Cannot Reject Delay Condonation Plea On Grounds Beyond Scope of Application: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 9 March held that while deciding an application for condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, the Authority cannot examine issues beyond the scope of the delay condonation request. Section 119(2)(b) empowers the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to authorise Income Tax authorities to admit delayed refund or loss carry-forward claims on showing “genuine hardship.” A Division Bench of Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside Transfer Of Income Tax Case From Ahmedabad To Rajkot Without Hearing Taxpayer

The Gujarat High Court has set aside an order transferring an assessee's income-tax reassessment case from Ahmedabad to Rajkot after finding that the transfer was made without granting the taxpayer an opportunity of hearing as required under the Income Tax Act. The division bench of Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held that in the present case the transfer of jurisdiction under Section 127(2) of the Income Tax Act could not be sustained since it had been effected without...