Taxation Of Virtual Digital Assets Doesn't Subject Crypto Exchanges To Public Law Scrutiny: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that the taxation of Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) under the Finance Act, 2022 does not make cryptocurrency exchanges "State" under Article 12 of the Constitution or, by itself, subject them to public law scrutiny.A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia thus dismissed an appeal filed by users of cryptocurrency exchange platform BitBNS, seeking CBI or SIT probe into the alleged withdrawal restrictions.For context,...

Madras HC Upholds Jurisdiction Of Assessing Officers To Issue Reassessment Notices Under Income Tax Act

The Madras High Court has held that Jurisdictional Assessing Officers have the authority to issue reassessment notices under Sections 148A, 148 and 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, observing that the retrospective insertion of Section 147A has clarified their jurisdiction to initiate proceedings for income escaping assessment. Justice C. Saravanan dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging reassessment proceedings initiated by Jurisdictional Assessing Officers, holding that the petitioners...

Emergency Relief Under Foreign Arbitration Rules Does Not Bar Interim Relief By Indian Courts: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that the availability of emergency or interim relief under the rules of a foreign arbitral institution does not, by itself, prevent Indian courts from granting interim protection in support of a foreign-seated arbitration. It observed that merely choosing institutional rules that provide for emergency measures is not enough to exclude the court's jurisdiction. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan made the ruling while directing Turkish company Uzer Makina VE...

Delhi High Court Restrains Hema Industries From Using 'FREEDINE' Mark In 'FREEDOM' Trademark Dispute

The Delhi High Court on 2 July temporarily restrained Hema Industries from using the trademark FREEDINE and its packaging in a trademark infringement and passing off suit filed by Gemini Edibles and Fats India Ltd, the manufacturer of FREEDOM branded edible oils. Justice Jyoti Singh, while granting an ex parte ad interim injunction, held that Gemini Edibles had established a prima facie case for relief. She observed that the “balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff” and that the...

Madras High Court Holds Employer Cannot Grant Section 89 Tax Relief Without Form 10E From Employees

The Madras High Court on 24 June held that employers deducting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on voluntary retirement compensation cannot be faulted for not granting relief under Section 89 of the Income Tax Act (relief for salary received in arrears or advance) unless employees submit the prescribed Form 10E. Justice C. Saravanan allowed the writ petition filed by the Hosur Bata Employees Union in part and directed the Income Tax Department to process the income tax returns of affected employees...

Gujarat HC Holds PLA Payment Cannot Result In Double Recovery, Directs ₹3.74 Cr. Credit Restoration

The Gujarat High Court on 24 June held that the Central Excise Department cannot require a taxpayer to claim a cash refund after the taxpayer has already deposited the disputed duty amount through the Personal Ledger Account (PLA), as the corresponding CENVAT credit must be restored to prevent double recovery. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed the writ petition filed by Inductotherm India Pvt. Ltd. and directed the Department to re-credit Rs. 3,74,33,462...

Delhi High Court Restrains DUSIB From Acting On Bank Guarantees Furnished For Construction Of 7,400 EWS Houses

The Delhi High Court has granted interim protection to Supreme Infrastructure India Ltd by restraining the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) from taking any precipitative steps in relation to bank guarantees furnished for a project involving the construction of 7,400 Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) houses at Pocket-II, Bhalaswa, Jahangirpuri. Justice Sachin Datta passed the interim order while issuing notice on the petition. The court directed DUSIB to file its reply within two...

Madras High Court Holds ITC Claim Based On Fabricated Agreement Invalid, Upholds GST Demand

The Madras High Court on 30 June held that input tax credit (ITC) cannot be claimed on the basis of a fabricated contractual arrangement, where the agreement and supporting invoices do not establish a genuine business transaction. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy dismissed two writ petitions filed by a proprietorship challenging GST assessment orders for financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, thereby upholding the demand of tax, interest and penalty confirmed under Section 74 of the GST...

Cricketer Abhishek Sharma Moves Delhi High Court Seeking Protection Of Personality Rights

Indian cricketer Abhishek Sharma has moved the Delhi High Court seeking removal of online AI generated defamatory content allegedly infringing his personality rights. The court refused to pass any interim orders after finding discrepancies between the screenshots relied upon by Sharma and the tabulated list of URLs annexed to his plaint. It directed him to file an additional affidavit with correctly matching screenshots before the matter is taken up again on July 9. Refusing to pass any...

Party Cannot Revive Contention Omitted Earlier Through Fresh Plea In Same Dispute: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 29 June held that a party cannot revive an issue through a fresh application after failing to raise an available contention at the appropriate stage, holding that such an attempt is barred by the principles of constructive res judicata, waiver and finality of litigation. Justice Niral R. Mehta dismissed a petition filed by JWIL Infra Ltd. (formerly JITF Water Infrastructure Ltd.) under Article 227 of the Constitution and upheld the arbitral tribunal's order refusing to...

Belated Allegation Of Coercion Cannot Justify GST Refund After Voluntary Payment: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 25 June held that a taxpayer cannot claim a refund of GST, interest and penalty voluntarily paid during search proceedings by alleging coercion nearly two years later, ruling that the belated allegation was merely an afterthought to secure a refund and that the delayed issuance of Form GST DRC-04 acknowledging the voluntary payment did not invalidate the proceedings. A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati dismissed the writ petition filed...

Non-Signatory Cannot Be Compelled To Arbitrate Merely For Claiming Through Signatory: Bombay HIgh Court

The Bombay High Court has recently held that a non-signatory cannot be compelled to arbitrate merely because it is alleged to be claiming "through or under" a signatory to an arbitration agreement. Emphasising that arbitration is founded on consent, the court observed, "Since consent forms the cornerstone of arbitration, a non-signatory cannot be forcibly made a 'party' to an arbitration agreement, as doing so would violate sacrosanct principles of privity of contract and party autonomy." ...