Madras High Court Upholds Sales Tax Demand Against Ford India Over Breach of Exemption Conditions

The Madras High Court has upheld the levy of Tamil Nadu sales tax on Ford India, holding that the company breached the conditions of a state government notification granting a sales tax exemption on purchases of goods used for manufacturing passenger cars after availing the benefit by furnishing declarations.The dispute relates to the 2001-02 assessment yearThe exemption under G.O. Ms. No. 381 covered purchases of goods used in the manufacture, assembling, packing and labelling of passenger cars...

Arbitrator Can Pronounce Award Once Matter Is Reserved Despite Counsel's Withdrawal: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that a sole arbitrator can proceed to pronounce an arbitral award even if the respondents' counsel does not produce documents he had undertaken to file and later withdraws his vakalat, provided the matter has already been reserved for passing of the award. The court held that no further orders were required in the application and closed it. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed, "This Court is of the view that, when the matter had been reserved for passing of the...

Madras High Court Upholds 2014 Notification Granting Pan-India Powers To DGCEI Officers In Service Tax Cases

The Madras High Court has upheld a 2014 notification that authorised officers of the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (now the Directorate General of GST Intelligence) to investigate service tax cases and issue show cause notices across India, regardless of where the taxpayer was located. The court held that the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) was empowered to confer all-India jurisdiction on Central Excise officers through notifications issued under the Finance...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With ₹4.25 Crore Refund Order Against Filmmaker Gautham Menon Over Unmade Film

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Madras High Court's judgment directing filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon and others to repay ₹4.25 crore with 12% interest to R.S. Infotainment in a dispute arising from a 2008 agreement to produce an untitled Tamil film. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed the special leave petition at the threshold. The Bench declined to interfere with the Madras High Court's March 23, 2026 judgment, which had upheld a...

Madras High Court Quashes Bank Account Attachment Under GST For Lack Of Tangible Material

The Madras High Court on 8 July held that a provisional attachment of a taxpayer's bank accounts under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act cannot be sustained merely by reproducing the statutory language without disclosing any tangible material or reasons to justify the action. Section 83 of the CGST Act empowers the Commissioner to provisionally attach a taxpayer's property, including bank accounts, to protect government revenue during the pendency of specified...

Madras High Court Restrains Karnataka Bar From Using 'TVS' Mark

The Madras High Court has granted an ad interim ex parte injunction restraining a Karnataka-based establishment from using the mark "TVS Bar and Restaurant" in a trademark infringement and passing off suit filed by TVS Holdings Limited and TVS Motor Company Limited. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu passed the order on July 10. Holding that the applicants had established their registered rights over the "TVS" trademark, the court observed: "The applicants had been benefitted with the registration of a...

Madras High Court Holds 'KONGU ELITE MATRIMONY' Infringes 'ELITE MATRIMONY' Mark, Grants Injunction

The Madras High Court on 8 July held that a matchmaking service using the trade name “KONGU ELITE MATRIMONY” and an identical domain name can be restrained where the mark is visually and phonetically similar to the registered “ELITE MATRIMONY” mark, granting an interim injunction in favour of Matrimony.com Limited. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed: “The applicant had been benefitted with the registration of a Trademark of the words 'ELITE MATRIMONY' for providing online match making...

Madras High Court Holds Lease Area Reduction Cannot Attract Fresh Stamp Duty, Orders ₹1.15 Cr Refund

The Madras High Court on 13 July held that an amendment agreement executed only to reduce the leased area of a property does not create a fresh lease and cannot be subjected to a fresh levy of stamp duty. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed the State's appeal and upheld the order directing refund of over Rs. 1.15 crore collected as stamp duty from Tata Communications Data Centers Pvt. Ltd. (now STT Global Data Centres...

Party Aware Of Arbitration Can't Challenge Unilateral Arbitrator's Appointment For First Time In Appeal: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has held that a party that knew of arbitral proceedings, sought adjournments, and then remained ex parte cannot raise a challenge to the unilateral appointment of the arbitrator for the first time in a Section 37 appeal after remaining silent for nearly ten years. A Division Bench of Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi dismissed an appeal by Nirmal Datacomm Private Limited and others against an arbitral award directing them to pay Redington...

Madras High Court Grants Stay On ₹101.14 Crore TDS Penalty Recovery Against Cognizant

The Madras High Court on 6 July granted interim relief to Cognizant Technology Solutions India Private Limited by staying recovery proceedings arising from tax deducted at source (TDS) penalty demands exceeding Rs. 101.14 crore. A Bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy found that the company had established a prima facie case, directed it to deposit Rs. 4 crore within two months, and stayed recovery of the balance penalty amount until the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) decides the...

Madras High Court Quashes CBI Case After Bank Accepted IBC Resolution Plan, Issued No Due Certificate

The Madras High Court has held that Union Bank of India ought not to have initiated criminal proceedings against Star Agro Marine Exports Private Limited and its directors after accepting the corporate insolvency resolution plan, accepting the settlement amount and issuing a No Due Certificate The court held that the prosecution initiated thereafter amounted to an abuse of the process of law. Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan passed the order while quashing criminal proceedings initiated by the...

Madras High Court Holds Unreasonable Delay Bars Duty Drawback Recovery, Quashes ₹38.77 Lakh Demand

The Madras High Court on 7 July held that customs authorities cannot recover duty drawback benefits after an unreasonable and unexplained delay, even when the relevant rules do not prescribe a specific limitation period for such recovery. Justice Hemant Chandangoudar quashed the recovery proceedings initiated against A.Kiyasdeen, an exporter for recovery of Rs. 38.77 lakh in duty drawback and a penalty of Rs. 1 lakh, holding that the proceedings initiated several years after the drawback was...