Gujarat High Court Clarifies GST Treatment Of Amalgamations, Declines IGST Refund Relief To Alstom

The Gujarat High Court on 23 January dismissed a batch of writ petitions seeking IGST refunds on exports made prior to amalgamation, while authoritatively clarifying the statutory framework governing registration, refund claims and transfer of input tax credit in cases of corporate amalgamation under the GST regime. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed the petitions filed by Alstom Transport India Limited, holding that both the taxpayer and the...

Allahabad High Court Dismisses PIL Against Retrospective Property Tax By Kanpur Municipal Corp.

On 12 January, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the retrospective enhancement of property tax by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation, holding that a PIL is not maintainable where the relief sought essentially pertains to the private grievances of an association's members. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra held: “Filing of petitions in the nature of PIL, though essentially projecting the interest...

Status Quo Ante Means Restoration, Can't Be Ordered Lightly: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently set aside an ad interim order passed during arbitration proceedings that directed restoration of possession of leased premises, holding that such relief amounts to a mandatory injunction and cannot be granted lightly. A Division Bench of Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Maheswara Rao Kuncheam said courts must record clear and justifiable reasons before directing restoration of an earlier state of affairs. "Such orders of „status quo ante‟ are...

Interim Relief Can't Undo Completed Sale Or Replace Enforcement In Arbitration: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea seeking to stop the sale of a vessel and secure an arbitral award, holding that once a sale is completed, the court cannot restrain the transaction or use interim relief to indirectly enforce an award. Justice Sandeep V. Marne said interim protection under the arbitration law is meant to prevent imminent dissipation of assets. It cannot be used to undo a concluded transaction or as a substitute for enforcement proceedings. “The sale of the Ship has...

Landowner Who Transfers Development Rights Is Jointly Liable To Homebuyers: Uttarakhand High Court

The Uttarakhand High Court has recently reiterated that a landowner who hands over land and extensive development rights to a builder cannot avoid responsibility towards homebuyers and can be subjected to recovery proceedings even if the flats were sold by the developer. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Ashish Naithani said liability towards homebuyers does not rest on the builder alone. “The liability, as against the allottees, from whom money was realized by...

Arbitral Tribunal Is A 'Creature of Contract': Delhi High Court Upholds ₹25 Lakh Award To Carlsberg

The Delhi High Court has upheld an arbitral award directing Pali Hills Breweries Pvt. Ltd. to pay Rs 25 lakh to Carlsberg India Private Limited under a brewing contract, while partly allowing the company's challenge by setting aside the arbitrator's rejection of its storage-rent claim. The court held that the amount was a genuine estimate of loss agreed to by the parties. Justice Jasmeet Singh said the High Court could not step in to re-decide the dispute or re-examine the evidence. He said...

Vague Show Cause Notice Can't Justify Retrospective GST Cancellation: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently held that a GST registration cannot be cancelled retrospectively on the basis of a vague show cause notice, even where the appeal against such cancellation is delayed. A Division Bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digipaul said the court cannot be a "blind spectator" to the denial of a proper opportunity of hearing, even where the proceedings are time-barred. “A vague Show Cause Notice is nothing less than a document which is not providing...

Appellate Courts Cannot Disturb Arbitral Awards Merely To Permit A Different View, Supreme Court Reiterates

The Supreme Court, recently, set aside a Madras High Court order that had deleted compensation awarded to a dredging contractor and reiterated that appellate courts cannot interfere with arbitral awards merely because they prefer a different interpretation of the contract. A Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Pankaj Mithal held that courts hearing appeals in arbitration matters have a narrow and limited role. Once an arbitral award has been examined and found free from...

MP High Court Sets Aside District Court Order Rejecting SAIL's Arbitration Challenge In Two Paragraphs

The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur has set aside a district court order that rejected SAIL's objections to a Rs 1.54-crore arbitration award, with its reasoning confined to just two paragraphs. The High Court said such a dismissal, without dealing with the objections raised, cannot be sustained. Justice Vivek Jain, while ordering a fresh decision through a reasoned order observed, “Such a non-speaking order passed in course of proceedings under Section 34 cannot be upheld by this...

Bombay High Court Cautions Against Injunctions On Third Parties In Arbitration Cases

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea seeking interim relief pending arbitration by Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt. Ltd, he Indian arm of German exhibition organiser Messe Frankfurt, seeking interim relief to stop two trade exhibitions in Mumbai, reiterating that courts must be cautious while granting orders directly against third parties under the arbitration law.Justice Sandeep V Marne said that while there is no absolute bar on granting interim relief against non-signatories, such...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside GST Notices Issued For Multiple Financial Years Together

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has set aside two GST show cause notices issued to AR Traders after finding that the tax department had wrongly combined multiple financial years into single proceedings. A Division Bench of Jutsices Anil L. Pansare and Nivedita P. Mehta held that the GST law does not permit consolidation of multiple financial years in a single proceeding. The court said the notices issued to the firm did not follow the statutory framework governing tax...

RERA Tribunal Order Unsustainable Where Heard by One Bench And Pronounced By Another: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has set aside a judgment of the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, holding that a case heard by one bench cannot be decided by another bench if one of its members did not hear the arguments. The court said such a judgment is unsustainable in law and goes against fundamental principles of judicial procedure. A Single Bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi said that the bench that hears a matter must also decide it. It added that views of members who heard the case...