Rajasthan High Court Rejects Second Bail Plea In ₹48 Crore GST Evasion Case

The Rajasthan High Court has rejected a second bail application filed by a man accused of being the kingpin of an alleged ₹48.41 crore GST evasion syndicate, ruling that bail granted to a co-accused cannot by itself entitle another accused to the same relief. Justice Praveer Bhatnagar observed, "It is a settled proposition of law that parity, by itself, is not the sole or determinative ground for grant of bail as while considering the plea of parity, the court is required to independently...

Income Tax Findings Have Evidentiary Value In Benami Proceedings: Rajasthan High Court

On 3 August, the Rajasthan High Court held that findings under the Income Tax Act, though not conclusive in proceedings under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT) Act, have evidentiary value and must be considered by authorities deciding benami proceedings. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Sandeep Shah allowed an appeal filed by Alishan Complex Private Limited against orders passed by the Appellate Tribunal, Adjudicating Authority and Initiating Officer, which had...

Though Mandatory, 75% Pre-Deposit To Challenge MSME Award Need Not Accompany Plea: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur has held that while a 75% pre-deposit under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSME Act) is mandatory for challenging an arbitral award, courts can grant reasonable time to make the deposit instead of insisting that it accompany the challenge at the time of filing. The court said the statutory requirement must be met before a petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is heard on merits, and, in...

Rajasthan High Court Quashes GST Penalty Orders After Same Officer Approved Investigation and Adjudicated Case

The Rajasthan High Court has recently held that the a taxpayer's reasonable apprehension of bias could not be ignored where the Additional Commissioner who approved the investigation report leading to prosecution also adjudicated the proceedings arising from the same facts. The division bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Praveer Bhatnagar consequently quashed the orders imposing penalties and the appellate order upholding them and remanded the matter for fresh adjudication.The...

Order Requiring Deposit Of Entire Arbitral Award For Stay Not Appealable: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that an order directing a party to deposit the entire arbitral award amount as a condition for staying enforcement of the award is not appealable under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Holding that Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, does not create an independent right of appeal, the bench observed, "As an upshot, we hold that an order passed under Section 36(3), whether granting stay unconditionally, conditionally, or refusing it, is not...

Redemption Fine Under Central Excise Law Does Not Bar Sabka Vishwas Scheme Relief: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that taxpayers whose goods were confiscated under the Central Excise law and who were directed to pay a redemption fine in lieu of confiscation are not excluded from the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019.It ruled that they cannot be treated as ineligible to file declarations under the Scheme merely because they were liable to pay a redemption fine.A division bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Maneesh Sharma passed the ruling while...

Rajasthan High Court To Decide If Police Can Levy Fees On Banks For SARFAESI Possession Assistance

The Rajasthan High Court is set to examine whether the Police Department can levy charges on banks for providing police assistance to recover secured assets under Section 14 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002. A Single Bench of Justice Sameer Jain on 6 July was hearing a petition filed by AU Small Finance Bank Ltd challenging the Rajasthan Police Department's levy of charges for providing police assistance in...

60% Tax Rate Under Section 115BBE Cannot Apply To Pre-1 April 2017 Income: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 27 May held that the enhanced tax rate of 60% introduced under Section 115BBE of the Income-tax Act through the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, cannot be applied retrospectively to income pertaining to Financial Year 2016–17, as the amendment was expressly made effective from 1 April 2017. The Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Sunil Beniwal held that the higher rate could operate only prospectively and could not govern income earned prior to its...

Arbitrator's Plausible Reading Of Ambiguous Contract Clause Not Ground To Set Aside Award: Rajasthan HC

The Rajasthan High Court has held that where a contract contains an ambiguous term and the arbitrator adopts a plausible interpretation of that term, such interpretation does not amount to misconduct under Section 30 of the Arbitration Act, 1940. Justice Sandeep Shah upheld an arbitral award passed nearly two decades ago against the Union of India (UOI) in a dispute arising from fencing work along the Indo-Pak border and affirmed the arbitral award as well as the order of the District Judge,...

BOT Concessionaire Liable To Pay GST On Toll Rights Received As Consideration: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 22 May held that toll collection rights granted under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement constitute consideration for taxable works contract services and are not exempt from GST merely because toll collection itself enjoys exemption. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Sandeep Shah dismissed a writ petition filed by CG Tollway Ltd challenging orders of the GST authorities that had demanded Rs. 16.36 GST, interest and penalty on services...

Arbitrator Appointment By Agreed Arbitral Institution Cannot Be Treated As Unilateral: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has recently affirmed that the appointment of an arbitrator by an arbitral institution agreed upon by the parties cannot, by itself, be treated as a unilateral appointment, while setting aside orders that had refused to execute an arbitral award obtained by Sundaram Finance Ltd.A single bench of Justice Bipin Gupta relied on recent judgments of the Madras High Court and the Kerala High Court. The court unequivocally held that MCCI was mutually agreed upon by the parties,...

Rajasthan HC Slams “Lethargic” Arbitration In ₹528 HCL–DISCOMs Dispute, Orders Fast-Track Completion

The Rajasthan High Court on 27 May held that arbitral proceedings must remain aligned with the statutory objective of expedition, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and that procedural delay cannot justify repeated extensions of an arbitral tribunal's mandate under Section 29A. Justice Sameer Jain, invoking former Chief Justice of India Justice P.N. Bhagwati's observation that “Procedure is but a means to an end, not an end in itself”, partly...