Bombay High Court Rules Damages Under Arbitral Award Not Taxable Under GST In Tata Sons–NTT Docomo Case

The Bombay High Court has held that the Rs. 8,450 crore paid by Tata Sons to NTT Docomo under an arbitral award cannot be subjected to GST.The payment arose from a dispute over Docomo's exit rights under a shareholders' agreement in Tata Teleservices, and the Court rejected the tax department's claim that it amounted to a taxable service. A Division Bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe was considering whether settlement of the arbitral award and the accompanying consent terms could...

Consolidated GST Show Cause Notices Across Multiple Years Permissible: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently ruled that GST authorities can issue a single show cause notice covering multiple financial years, settling a dispute over whether such notices must be confined to one year. The question before the court was, “Whether it would be permissible to issue consolidated/common show cause notice under Sections 73 and 74 of the Act covering multiple financial years or multiple tax periods?” Answering this, a bench of Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind...

Deductions For Captive Power Profits Cannot Reduce Export Profit Deduction When Businesses Are Separate: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that deductions claimed on profits from captive power generation and export businesses must be computed independently and cannot be reduced against each other where the incomes arise from distinct sources. “The deduction granted under Section 80-IA cannot be reduced while computing profits eligible for deduction under Section 80HHC where the deductions arise from independent businesses,” the court held. A division bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj and...

"Entirely Dishonest": Bombay High Court Grants Injunction To UltraTech Cement Against Infringing 'Ultra' Marks

The Bombay High Court has granted a permanent injunction restraining a rival cement maker from using marks deceptively similar to UltraTech, holding that the adoption was “entirely dishonest” and “actuated in bad faith.” In a judgment pronounced on April 28, 2026, Justice Arif S. Doctor decreed the suit in favour of UltraTech Cement Limited and Grasim Industries Limited, while also awarding more than Rs. 66 lakh towards costs and litigation expenses. “The manner in which the impugned marks are...

Madras High Court Restrains Piracy Of Aamir Khan Productions' 'Ek Din' Ahead of Release

The Madras High Court recently estrained apprehended infringement of copyright in the film Ek Din, slated for release today, by granting an ad-interim injunction in a suit filed by Aamir Khan Productions Pvt Ltd. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the order noting that the film was scheduled to release on May 1, 2026 (today). The Court observed that in matters of this nature, “irreversible injury” is likely to occur unless unlawful broadcast is prevented. Ek Din is a Hindi romantic drama...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Entertain IT Rules Takedown Plea In Copyright Case; Allows Plea To Be Withdrawn

The Delhi High Court has observed that a direction to intermediaries to take down content on the basis of private copyright claims cannot be granted without a prior determination by a court, while dealing with a plea seeking removal of allegedly infringing content. “The private intermediaries cannot be expected to, in the absence of there being a finding rendered by a Court, to take down, suspend or block content, which is contended by an individual to be their intellectual property,” the court...

Madras High Court Refuses To Quash Tax Evasion Case, Says Wilfulness Is Matter For Trial

The Madras High Court has refused to quash criminal proceedings against a taxpayer accused of failing to pay admitted income tax dues, noting that the issues raised had already been urged before the trial court and could not be re-agitated at a belated stage. A single-judge bench of Justice M. Niraml Kumar was dealing with a petition filed by Abdul Khader Mohammed Farook seeking to quash proceedings pending before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Economic Offences), Egmore, for...

MP High Court Upholds Remand To Arbitrator In NHAI Land Compensation Case After He Ignored Land's Urban Status

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld a district court's decision to send a land compensation dispute back to an arbitrator after finding that the arbitrator ignored that the land had already been declared urban before fixing compensation. “The power of remand as held by the constitution bench permits the Court to send the award to the Tribunal for reconsideration of specific aspects and it is not an open ended process rather it is a limited power confined to limited circumstances and issues...

ITAT Can't Grant Tax Benefits To Charitable Institution Without Proper Inquiry Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has held that a tax appellate tribunal cannot directly grant tax exemption benefits to a charitable trust without first ensuring that a proper inquiry into its activities has been carried out. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar passed the ruling while setting aside an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had directed the grant of registration and approval to Sukoon SP Foundation, a charitable trust.The trust had applied for...

Amazon- Future Coupons Reach Settlement; Delhi High Court Disposes Challenge To SIAC Award

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday permitted withdrawal of petitions filed by Future Coupons Private Limited and promoter entities, including Ashni Kishore Biyani, against a Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) award in their dispute with Amazon. The award had held them in breach of contractual obligations and directed them to pay Rs 23.7 crore in damages, along with Rs 77.3 crore and SGD 68,550 towards costs, but the challenge was withdrawn after the parties entered into a settlement...

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...

Bombay High Court Quashes GST Demand On Mumbai University, Says Affiliation Not 'Supply' Of Service

The Bombay High Court has recently set aside a GST demand of Rs 16.90 crore on the University of Mumbai, holding that affiliation fees collected by the university are part of its statutory duties and not taxable. “Thus, having examined Section 7 and its purport in regard to its applicability in the context of the petitioner University receiving affiliation fee, in our opinion, there ought not to be any ambiguity that the collection of affiliation fees by the petitioner University in the...