Bombay High Court Directs Department Not To Reassess Taxpayers Challenging Income Tax Act Sec. 147A

The Bombay High Court on 2 September directed the Income Tax Department not to proceed with reassessment proceedings against taxpayers who have challenged and pressed the constitutional validity of Section 147A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, including in petitions not presently listed with the main batch of cases. A Division Bench of Justices B.P. Colabawalla and Farhan P. Dubash passed the interim order in a batch of petitions led by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. The judges extended the...

Vimal Elaichi Ad: Delhi High Court Dismisses Plea Against Maharashtra FDA Notice To Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, Tiger Shroff

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea by VIMAL Elaichi master licensee P.B. Agro LLP challenging a Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice issued to its brand ambassadors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Tiger Shroff over alleged surrogate promotion of pan masala.The court rejected P.B. Agro's argument that its Delhi connections gave the Delhi High Court territorial jurisdiction over the Maharashtra regulator's action.“The factum of petitioner operating its business from...

Bombay High Court Condones 530-Day Delay In Foreign Award Enforcement Amid Limitation Uncertainty

The Bombay High Court has condoned a 530-day delay in seeking enforcement of a foreign arbitral award, holding that the uncertainty over the limitation period applicable to enforcement of foreign awards constituted sufficient cause for the delay.Justice Arif S. Doctor observed that the delay arose from “the lack of clarity in the law at the time regarding the applicable period of limitation for the enforcement of a foreign award” and not from ignorance or misunderstanding of the law. The court...

Arbitrator's Elevation As Judge Did Not Affect Award Passed Before Taking Oath: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has held that the elevation of an arbitrator as a High Court judge did not affect the validity of an arbitral award passed by him. The award was passed hours before he took oath as a judge on the same day.The order was passed by Justice Gaurang Kanth, who rejected Acumen (J) Marketing Private Limited's objection to sole arbitrator Partha Pratim Roy's competence after his elevation as an Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court. The bench noted that the award was...

'No Pressing Hurry': Delhi High Court Sets Aside Income Tax Order For Curtailing Assessee's Reply Time

The Delhi High Court has set aside an order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, after finding that the Assessing Officer (AO) curtailed the assessee's statutory opportunity to respond and subsequently ignored the reply that had been filed before the order was passed.The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that the assessee was entitled to 30 days to file its reply, whereas the AO had practically reduced the time available to it to...

Delhi High Court Directs Firm To Pursue Appeal Against GST Registration Cancellation Rejection, Refuses Writ

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a firm's writ petition challenging the rejection of its application for cancellation of GST registration. The authorities had alleged that the firm sought registration on the basis of documents whose authenticity could not be verified and had availed or passed Input Tax Credit (ITC) from non-existent firms.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that the dispute involved examination of the material and...

Patna HC Quashes Sale Of Guarantor's Property As Bank Fails To Establish Liability After Loan Restructuring

The Patna High Court has quashed the sale of a guarantor's flat by Canara Bank under the SARFAESI Act.It held that the Bank failed to establish that the guarantor's liability continued to cover a subsequent financial facility sanctioned after the original loan was restructured.Justice G. Anupama Chakravarthy observed that the Bank could not rely merely on the fact that the guarantor had never formally sought a discharge from his earlier guarantee. It had to demonstrate that the guarantee also...

Pre-Dispute Clause Cannot Replace Post-Dispute Written Waiver Of Arbitrator Ineligibility: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the setting aside of an arbitral award passed by an arbitrator appointed unilaterally by the Managing Director of the Central Warehousing Corporation. It held that a contractual clause permitting such appointment could not override the post-dispute written waiver requirement under Section 12(5) A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta dismissed an appeal filed by contractor Amal Krishna Dey against the Commercial Court's...

Award Debtor Cannot Sidestep Mandatory 75% Deposit To Challenge MSME Award Through Execution Objections: Telengana HC

The Telangana High Court has held that an award debtor cannot use execution-stage objections to sidestep the mandatory 75% deposit required under the MSMED Act. The ruling came in a dispute between MSME supplier Atlantis Agritech Private Limited and Kendriya Bhandar, after the latter sought to keep asset-disclosure proceedings in abeyance pending its application under Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure before the Executing Court. The High Court held that such proceedings cannot be...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Cross-Subsidy Surcharge On Bagasse-Based Power Plants

The Karnataka High Court has upheld cross-subsidy surcharge demands against bagasse-based cogeneration units, holding that exempting solar power projects from the levy while imposing it on bagasse-based cogeneration plants was not discriminatory.Bagasse is the fibrous residue left after sugarcane is crushed to extract its juice Justice M. Nagaprasanna dismissed a batch of petitions filed by Ugar Sugar Works Limited,Hiranyakeshi Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane Niyamit and Godavari Biorefineries...

Rajasthan High Court Rejects Claim To Adjust Earlier Service Tax Payment Against Dues Under Sabka Vishwas Scheme

The Rajasthan High Court has held that a taxpayer who declares the full service tax liability under the voluntary disclosure category of the Sabka Vishwas Scheme cannot later seek adjustment of an earlier tax payment against that declared amount, ruling that the statutory scheme treats the figure voluntarily declared as the tax due.A Division Bench comprising Justice Arun Monga and Justice Ashutosh Kumar held that in a voluntary disclosure case, the amount declared by the taxpayer itself is...

No Customs Interest On Capital Goods Kept In Bonded Warehouse Until Clearance: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has upheld the setting aside of a ₹2.88-crore customs interest demand on solar modules imported by Acme Aklera Power Technology Pvt. Ltd. It held that interest under Section 61(2) of the Customs Act cannot be charged on capital goods covered by Section 61(1)(a). A Division Bench comprising Justice Arun Monga and Justice Ashutosh Kumar held that such capital goods can remain in a warehouse until clearance if they are intended for use in a warehouse where manufacture or...