Supreme Court
Foreign Entity Doing Business Through Temporary Premises In India Liable To Tax : Supreme Court Rejects Hyatt International's Appeal
The Supreme Court on Thursday (July 24) ruled that the existence of a Permanent Establishment (PE) is sufficient to attract tax liability for a foreign entity in India, even in the absence of exclusive possession of a fixed place of business. The Court clarified that temporary or shared use of premises, when combined with administrative or operational control, is adequate to establish a PE, thereby triggering income tax liability in India.Holding so, the bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala...
'CBI Has Guts To Not Appear Before Us?' : Supreme Court Questions CBI's Absence In Plea For Probe Against Indiabulls Housing Finance
The Supreme Court today(July 21) passed strong critical oral remarks against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for not entering appearance in a case concerning allegations of serious illegalities, including round-tripping of funds, violations of provisions of the Companies Act, and siphoning of funds committed by the promoters of Indiabulls House Finance Limited (renamed as Sammaan Capital ltd) and its subsidiaries and their promoters. The Special Leave Petition is filed against the...
Clause Saying Arbitration "May Be Sought" Doesn't Constitute A Binding Arbitration Agreement : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently held that a clause in an agreement that arbitration "may be sought" to resolve disputes between the parties will not constitute a binding arbitration agreement.Approving the refusal of the High Court to refer the parties to arbitartion, the Supreme Court observed that the phraseology of the clause did not indicate that the parties were bound to go for arbitration."...clause 13 does not bind parties to use arbitration for settlement of the disputes. Use of the words...
SEBI Act | Interest On Unpaid Penalty Applicable Retrospectively, Liability Accrues From Adjudication Order : Supreme Court
In a case involving SEBI's imposition of interest on unpaid penalties, the Supreme Court recently held that interest on unpaid penalty amounts can be applied retrospectively and the defaulter's liability to pay interest shall accrue from the date of expiry of the period specified in the assessment order.No separate demand notice, after the liability is crystallized in the assessment order, is required to be issued by SEBI, the Court said."Under section 220(1) read with section 28A of the SEBI...
MP Entry Tax Act | Manufacturers Liable For Entry Tax As They “Cause Entry” Of Liquor Into Local Areas : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court upheld the MP High Court's decision to levy the 'entry tax' on the beer and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (“IMFL”) manufacturers for transporting goods into local areas for sale. The Court reasoned that the liquor manufacturers "cause entry" of goods into local areas, making them liable for tax under Section 2(3) of the Madhya Pradesh Sthaniya Kshetra Me Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Adhiniyam, 1976 (“M.P. Entry Tax Act, 1976”), even if sales occur through state-controlled warehouses. ...
Limitation Act Won't Apply To Conciliation Process Under MSMED Act, But Applies To Arbitration : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court settled an important legal issue regarding the recovery of time-barred payment claims by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) suppliers from large buyers under the MSMED Act. The Court held that while MSME suppliers may pursue time-barred debts through conciliation proceedings under the Act, such claims cannot be enforced through arbitration, as the Limitation Act applies to arbitration proceedings initiated under the MSMED framework. The Court reasoned that the...
Stem Cell Banking Services Qualify As "Healthcare Services" In Service Tax Exemption Notification : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court held that stem cell banking services, including enrolment, collection, processing, and storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells, constitute “Healthcare Services” which were exempted from service tax as per the notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2012 and 2014 under the Finance Act, 1994.Holding so, a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan set aside the assessment orders issued against M/s Stemcyte India Therapeutics Ltd for over Rs 2...
Whether Discharge In Predicate Offence Automatically Invalidates PMLA Proceedings? Supreme Court To Consider
The Supreme Court is set to consider the issue as to whether discharge in the predicate/scheduled offence would automatically invalidate proceedings initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is dealing with the challenge to a Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court order, which held that discharge in the predicate offence does not automatically invalidate PMLA proceedings.Notice was issued on the petition in the parting Court...
Director Sujoy Ghosh Approaches Supreme Court To Quash Copyright Infringement Case Over "Kahaani 2" Film Script
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 2) issued notice on a petition filed by national award-winning scriptwriter and director Sujoy Ghosh seeking to quash a criminal case filed under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957, on the allegation that his movie "Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh" was based on a stolen script.A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan, while issuing notice to the State of Jharkhand and the complainant, allowed exemption to Ghosh from personal appearance...
'Pankaj Bansal' Judgment On Supply Of Grounds Of Arrest Applies Only Prospectively, Argues Karnataka Govt In Supreme Court
In a case filed by the State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court is likely to consider the issue as to whether its judgment in Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India, which held that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) must furnish grounds of arrest to the accused in writing, is retrospective in application.A bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh heard the matter yesterday and adjourned it to June 26.The case assails decision dated 17.04.2025 rendered by the Karnataka High Court holding...
PPL Copyright Issue | Third Parties Not Exempt From Paying License Fee To PPL Because Of Stay In Azure's Favour : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently clarified that its interim stay order dated April 21, 2025, in the dispute between Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL) and Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. will apply only between the parties to the suit pending before the Delhi High Court and not to third parties.On April 21, 2025 the Supreme Court had stayed the direction of the Delhi High Court ordering Azure to pay PPL licence fees for playing its copyrighted sound recordings calculated as per the tariff of Recorded...
Supreme Court Rejects Challenging Validity Of Rule 29(4) Copyright Rules Requiring Prior Notice For Statutory Broadcast Licence
The Supreme Court rejected a plea challenging Rule 29(4) of the Copyright Rules, 2013, which sets out the specific particulars that broadcasters must include in the prior notice required for invoking the statutory licence under Section 31D of the Copyright Act, 1957.Section 31D provides for a statutory licence to broadcasters to communicate literary and musical works and sound recordings without requiring prior individual licences from copyright owners, subject to conditions including prior...