Unit Owners, Not Society, Must Challenge Individual Property Tax Demands: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that after the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) issued separate property tax demand notices to individual unit owners, any grievance regarding the assessment, penalty or sewerage tax became an individual dispute. The court held that the appropriate remedy thereafter is the statutory appeal under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act. It dismissed writ petitions filed by a commercial premises society and some of its members after finding that MCGM had...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Regulations Allowing Cross-Subsidy Surcharge On Open Access Electricity Consumers

The Karnataka High Court has recently upheld the validity of a Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission regulation that requires consumers procuring electricity through Open Access to pay Cross-Subsidy Surcharge (CSS). The court rejected a challenge to the surcharge mechanism, holding that it is consistent with the Electricity Act, the Electricity Rules and the National Tariff Policy. Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum held that the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and...

Property Tax Revision Invalid Without Mandatory Publication Compliance: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 2 June quashed enhanced property tax demands issued by the Haripad Municipality, holding that revised property tax rates cannot be enforced without compliance with the mandatory notification and publication requirements prescribed under the Kerala Municipality (Property Tax Services and Surcharge) Rules, 2011. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. was deciding a batch of writ petitions challenging enhanced property tax demands issued in respect of various buildings within the...

CAG Audit Of BSES Discoms Cannot Be Blocked At Show-Cause Stage: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on 22 June held that a writ petition challenging a notice proposing entrustment of audit to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is premature, reiterating that courts ordinarily do not interfere at the stage of a show cause notice as it does not give rise to a cause of action unless it is issued without jurisdiction. Justice Tejas Karia dismissed the writ petition filed by BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited, upholding the Government of...

Operator Of MPSTDC Motel Cannot Invoke State Ownership To Claim Property Tax Exemption: MP High Court

The Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that a private company operating a tourism corporation-owned motel for commercial purposes is liable to pay property tax and other charges and cannot claim exemption from property tax on the ground that the property belongs to the State. The court, however, ruled that the operator could not be made liable for any period before it entered into the agreement to run the motel. Justice Vishal Mishra passed the ruling in a petition filed...

Wrong Rubber Stamp Below Signature Does Not Invalidate Show Cause Notice: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has recently held that the use of an incorrect rubber stamp beneath the signature on a show-cause notice does not create a jurisdictional defect. The Court said this would not affect jurisdiction where the authority issuing the notice is otherwise vested with powers under the relevant Act and Rules. Rejecting a jurisdictional challenge raised by Dev Trading Company to a show-cause notice issued under the Health Security se National Security Cess Rules, 2026, a Division...

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...

CESTAT Upholds CST Demand, ₹6.43 Crore Penalty On Kedia Vanaspathi, Rejects Consignment Sale Claim

The New Delhi Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 12 May 2026 upheld the tax demand and penalty against Kedia Vanaspathi Ltd., holding that a dealer seeking exemption under Section 6A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 must prove, with prescribed evidence, that inter-State movement of goods arises from consignment transfers and not sales. President Justice Dilip Gupta and Technical Member P.V. Subba Rao dismissed the appeals and confirmed the...

Supreme Court Questions Whether Bank Of India Alone Can Face Octroi Prosecution After Officials Get Relief

The Supreme Court on Friday questioned whether criminal proceedings for alleged octroi violations can continue against Bank of India after the Bombay High Court quashed proceedings against its senior officials while allowing the case against the bank to continue. The issue arose while the Court was hearing the Bank of India's plea challenging the Bombay High Court's December 8, 2025 judgment. The High Court had quashed proceedings before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Pune, against...

Delhi High Court Rejects PIL Seeking Tax On Agricultural Income, Says Issue Lies with Legislature

The Delhi High Court has held that Courts cannot issue directions compelling the legislature or executive to enact a law, including for taxation of agricultural income, and dismissed a public interest litigation seeking such relief. A Division Bench comprising Justices D.K. Upadhyaya and Tejas Karia dismissed the petition as “highly misconceived” and held that no mandamus can be issued to direct legislation on taxation of agricultural income. The judges said: "We cannot issue a mandamus asking...

State Cannot “Unjustly Enrich Itself” By Denying Refund Of Wrongly Paid Stamp Duty Over Delay: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has held that the government cannot retain stamp duty wrongly paid by a citizen merely because there was a short delay in seeking a refund. The Court said procedural delay cannot defeat a person's substantive right to recover money mistakenly paid under a wrong stamp duty head, particularly when the transaction could not proceed further. A single-judge bench of Justice Milind N. Jadhav observed that the state cannot “unjustly enrich itself” by forfeiting money paid due to...

Uttarakhand High Court Strikes Down Water Tax On Hydropower, Calls It Tax On Electricity Generation

The Uttarakhand High Court has struck down a state law that required hydropower companies to pay a tax for using river water to generate electricity, holding that the levy was effectively a tax on electricity generation, which the State cannot impose. Deciding on a reference arising from an earlier split verdict, Justice Alok Kumar Verma opined: “It has been found in the earlier analysis that the Act imposes a tax on the generation of electricity. The State Legislature is not competent to levy...