Madras High Court Quashes GST Demand On GAIL, Says No Recovery If Tax Already Paid

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed a show cause notice issued to GAIL (India) Ltd. under Section 76 CGST Act, holding that recovery proceedings cannot be sustained where the tax collected has already been remitted to the Government, even if paid through another GST registration of the same entity. Section 76 of the CGST Act, 2017 provides that any person who collects an amount as representing tax must forthwith pay the same to the Government, irrespective of whether the...

Calcutta High Court Orders Enforcement of ₹1.34 Crore Arbitral Award Against L&T

The Calcutta High Court recently directed enforcement of an arbitral award of about Rs.1.34 crore in favour of UK Mechanical Engineering Pvt. Ltd. against Larsen & Toubro Ltd., holding that the award had attained finality and must be executed as it stands, while declining to grant any enhanced interest on the differential amount.Justice Gaurang Kanth was dealing with an execution petition filed under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act seeking enforcement of the arbitral award...

Delhi HC Decrees “Birla” Trademark Suit In Favour Of Birla Companies After Aryanson Paints Agrees To Settlement

The Delhi High Court has brought an end to a trademark dispute between Grasim Industries Limited, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited, and Aryanson Paints Private Limited after the three companies chose to settle the matter during the proceedings. The case centered on the use of the “BIRLA” name. Grasim and Aditya Birla Management Corporation told the Court that Aryanson Paints was selling products under names such as “BIRLA WHITE CEMENT” and “BIRLA WALLTECH,” which they said...

Andhra Pradesh High Court Sets Aside GST Order Against Mytrah Energy Over Failure To Examine Nature of Supply

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside a GST assessment order against Mytrah Energy India Pvt. Ltd., holding that the assessing authority failed to properly examine the nature of the transaction and wrongly applied a notification retrospectively.The Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar held that the assessment order was unsustainable for failure to examine the nature of supply and accordingly remanded the matter for fresh adjudication.The petitioner,...

Arbitral Award Holder Cannot Decline To Receive Amount And Then Claim Decree Unsatisfied: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has said, in an arbitration dispute, that once a judgment debtor deposits the decretal amount in court, its liability stands discharged to that extent. It went on to make clear that execution proceedings cannot be reopened simply because the decree holder decides not to withdraw the money and later tries to take advantage of a more favourable exchange rate. Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar refused to reopen execution proceedings that had already been disposed of in May...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Quash Third-Party Reassessment Despite Interim Relief To Searched Entity

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Hari Bhoomi Communications Private Limited, holding that reassessment proceedings initiated against it on the basis of material recovered during a search at another entity's premises are not rendered void by a subsequent interim order passed in favour of the searched entity. A division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vinod Kumar refused to interfere with an assessment order dated March 25, 2026, passed against the company...

Customs Public Notices Cannot Be Issued In A Manner Diluting FTA Benefits Or Overriding Law: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court recently observed that Commissioner of Customs cannot issue public notices in a manner that dilutes the benefits under free trade agreements or overrides statutory provisions and CBIC circulars, while setting aside an order denying preferential duty to Covestro India Pvt. Ltd. The dispute arises from a public notice issued in March 2024 by the Commissioner of Customs at Nhava Sheva, which prescribed additional documentation requirements in cases involving third-party...

Telangana High Court Refuses Challenge To Arrest Of Fino Payments Bank CEO In ₹840 Crore GST Case

The Telangana High Court has upheld the arrest of Fino Payments Bank CEO Rishi Nand Kishore Gupta in an alleged ₹840 crore GST evasion case, holding that the 24-hour safeguard under Article 22(2) of the Constitution was not violated and observing that his contention of being in custody prior to arrest did “not merit acceptance.”Dismissing his writ petition, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin held that Gupta was produced before the Magistrate within...

Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Madras HC Ruling That Contempt Can't Enforce Unquantified Royalty

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with a Madras High Court ruling that contempt proceedings were not maintainable where royalty claims had not been quantified, holding that non-payment of an unascertained amount cannot amount to willful disobedience. Dismissing the Special Leave Petitions filed by the South India Music Companies Association (SIMCA), a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said, “We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment(s)...

Madras High Court Holds Cut Tobacco Processed With Jaggery Water Is Unmanufactured Tobacco

The Madras High Court has recently held that cut tobacco processed by curing with jaggery water and sold in cut form would be classifiable as unmanufactured tobacco, setting aside advance rulings that had described it as manufactured chewing tobacco and subjected it to a higher compensation cess under GST.The court set aside the rulings of the Authority for Advance Ruling and the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, as well as a single judge's order that had upheld the description of the...

Unsuccessful Party Can Seek Interim Relief Under Arbitration Act: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India on Friday held that any party to an arbitration agreement, including one that has been unsuccessful in arbitral proceedings and has no enforceable award in its favour, is entitled to seek interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. It clarified that such relief can be sought at the post-award stage but before enforcement. A Bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Manoj Misra observed that “Section 9 of the Act commences with the...

Madras High Court Upholds Partial Setting Aside Of Arbitral Awards In Railway Contracts Dispute, Cites GCC Bars

The Madras High Court recently upheld the partial setting aside of arbitral awards in a railway contracts dispute, holding that claims granted by an arbitral tribunal contrary to express contractual prohibitions under the General Conditions of Contract (GCC) are unsustainable.The court also observed that, in the facts of the case, the contractor's issuance of a “No Claim Certificate” and the agreed GCC clauses barred it from raising further claims against the Railways. A Division Bench of...