Conditional Land Tax Acceptance Unsustainable Without Civil Court Adjudication: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on 5 March held that the State cannot impose conditions while accepting land tax that create a cloud over title, as such disputes require adjudication by a competent civil court and cannot be decided through administrative endorsements. A Division Bench comprising Justices Anil K. Narendran and Muralee Krishna S set aside the condition in Order G.O.(Ms.)No.172/2019/Rev. dated 6 June 2019 and declined to direct unconditional acceptance of land tax, while permitting the...

Stamp Duty On Amalgamation Cannot Be Based on Goodwill, Share Premium Account Entries: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that while an amalgamation order is chargeable to stamp duty as a “conveyance”, stamp authorities cannot levy duty on such an order by treating accounting entries such as goodwill, share premium, or profit and loss figures as consideration in the absence of any real issuance of shares or payment of money. Holding that amounts reflected in accounts can be considered for stamp duty only if they are clearly linked to actual issuance of shares or real payment of...

Hypothecation Agreements Attract Stamp Duty As General Agreements, Not Pledge Or Mortgage: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a hypothecation agreement executed to secure a loan attracts stamp duty as a general agreement under Article 5(g) of the Kerala Stamp Act and not as a pledge or mortgage, which attracts higher duty. Clarifying the position, the court said Article 6 of the Act applies only to pledges. “Article 6 of the Act will get attracted only if the instrument in question is a 'pledge'. On a conspectus reading of the agreement of hypothecation, it is evident that the...

Allahabad High Court Upholds Ghaziabad Property Tax Revision Based On Minimum Monthly Rent Rate

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation's revision of property tax based on minimum monthly rent rates (MMRR) under the U.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1959.In a PIL challenging the revision of property tax and its enhancement based on MMRR, the bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held: “we neither find any error in determination of 'MMRR' based upon categorization/classification of the properties nor any illegality in the...

Rajasthan High Court Grants Electricity Duty Exemption For UltraTech's Captive Power Under Solar Policy 2019

The Rajasthan High Court has held that electricity duty exemption on captive consumption of solar power promised under the Solar Policy, 2019 cannot be withdrawn retrospectively so as to divest accrued rights, ruling that UltraTech Cement Ltd. and other petitioners are entitled to the benefit for projects commissioned prior to the amendment.A Division Bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Sunil Beniwal delivered the judgment. The dispute traces back to the State's amendment of the Solar...

Delhi High Court Issues Notice To Centre On Plea Challenging Health Security and National Security Cess Act

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Union of India in a challenge to the constitutional validity of the Health Security and National Security Cess Act, 2025, observing that there is prima facie merit in the petitioner's arguments on legislative competence and arbitrariness of the levy.The Division Bench comprising Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul was hearing a writ petition filed by Vinod J. Sharma, wherein the validity of the cess imposed on pan masala...

Electricity Duty Exemption For Mega Projects Under BEDA Extends With Eligibility Certificate: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the exemption from payment of electricity duty granted to Mega Projects under the Package Incentive Scheme, by a 1999 notification issued under the Bombay Electricity Duty Act, 1958, continues to operate so long as the Eligibility Certificate remains valid, where the notification links the benefit to the eligibility period mentioned in the certificate. “The plain language of the Notification, read with the language of the Addenda III and the language of the...

Section 311 CrPC Can Be Invoked To Seek Additional Documents In Black Money Act Case: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that courts can invoke Section 311 of the CrPC, which allows summoning or recalling evidence, to permit additional documents to be placed on record if necessary for a just decision, even in prosecution under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.Justice Neena Bansal Krishna dismissed petitions filed by businessman Deepak Talwar challenging orders of the trial court and revisional court, which had allowed the...

Bombay High Court Declines To Answer Reference On Taxability Of Hire-Purchase Premium In Tata Motors Case

The court declined to answer the reference after Tata Motors and the Revenue stated they were not interested in pursuing the questions of law.

Gujarat High Court Grants Interim Relief To R.R. Exports Against HSNSC Cess Registration

The Gujarat High Court on 26 February granted interim relief to R.R. Exports after it challenged a requirement to register its unit, operating in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), under the Health Security and National Security Cess Act, 2025 (HSNSCA). A Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi issued notice in the case while recording that: “Prima facie, we find merit in the submissions advanced by the learned advocate for the petitioner.” R.R. Exports is a 100% Export...

Bombay High Court Quashes ₹1 Crore Stamp Duty Demand On Romell Real Estate's Slum Redevelopment Agreement

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside a stamp duty demand of over Rs. 1 crore raised against Romell Real Estate Pvt. Ltd., holding that the authorities erred by adding the cost of constructing a Permanent Transit Camp (PTC) while recalculating the market value in a slum redevelopment project. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan found that the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority (CCRA) acted arbitrarily in enhancing the market value by including the PTC construction cost...

Andhra Pradesh High Court Orders Formation Of Apex Committee To Recover Agricultural Land Conversion Tax Dues

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently directed the State's Chief Secretary to constitute an Apex Committee to identify defaulters and recover unpaid conversion tax dues under the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Challa Gunaranjan ordered, “… we feel that steps have to be taken for ensuring recovery of the outstanding tax. We, therefore, direct the Chief Secretary of...