Partner's Son Not Bound By Arbitration Clause In Partnership Deed: Madras High Court Refuses Arbitration In Trademark Case

The Madras High Court has refused to refer a trademark infringement and passing-off dispute over the snuff brand “J.S. Madras Snuff” to arbitration, holding that the arbitration clause in a partnership deed covering disputes between partners cannot bind a non-signatory merely because the alleged infringer is the partner's son. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy examined Clause 13 of the partnership deed and observed, “The language of such clause makes it clear that it pertains to disputes or...

Vehicle Possession And Document Transfer Concludes A Sale For Capital Gains Tax: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that delivery of a vehicle along with its original documents may constitute a completed sale for income-tax purposes, even if the registration certificate is not formally transferred in the buyer's name. A Bench comprising Justice C. Saravanan dismissed the writ petition filed by Dr. Arvind Kumar R. Shaw (the petitioner), upholding the assessment order passed by the Income Tax Department treating the sale of his Rolls‑Royce as a short-term capital gains...

Penalty Order Is In Limitation If Issued Within Six Months Of Appellate Order: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 6 February held that when penalty proceedings arise from assessment orders and the assessment is challenged on appeal, the limitation period for issuing a penalty can be computed from the appellate order. A penalty issued within the prescribed period after the appellate decision is therefore not time-barred. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy upheld a penalty imposed on actor Joseph Vijay under the Income Tax Act, 1961, observing that the penalty order dated 30 June 2022...

Madras High Court Sets Aside SHRC Order In Contract Dispute, Cites Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Mechanism

The Madras High Court has recently set aside a recommendation of the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission directing payment of ₹1 lakh compensation in a dispute arising out of a funding agreement between the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) and an NGO, holding that the matter was governed by a contractual dispute-resolution clause providing for grievance redressal and arbitration. The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice Dr. G. Jayachandran and Justice Shamim Ahmed...

No Penalty For Erroneous Claim Based On Bona Fide Interpretation Of Tax Treaty: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on 5 February held that an erroneous claim of double taxation relief by itself cannot lead to a penalty under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 when the taxpayer has fully disclosed the relevant income and the claim arises from a bona fide interpretation of law. A Division Bench of Dr. Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineini Sudheer Kumar heard appeals filed by the Commissioner of Income Tax against Indian Overseas Bank challenging an order of the Income...

Madras High Court Directs Commercial Court To Number, Hear Suit Returned For Skipping Pre-Institution Mediation

The Madras High Court has recently directed a Commercial Court in Chennai to number a commercial suit that had been returned before numbering for failure to undergo pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. The Court held that the plaint disclosed a case seeking “urgent interim relief." Justice S. Sounthar observed that at the stage of numbering a plaint, the court's inquiry is limited to examining whether the suit plausibly seeks urgent interim relief....

Madras High Court Upholds Same-Month ISD Credit Rule Under CGST, Dismisses Reliance Jio's Challenge

The Madras High Court on 5 March upheld the validity of Rule 39(1)(a) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which mandates that an Input Service Distributor (ISD) must allocate tax credits within the same month in which an invoice is received. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan was hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, challenging the provision governing the timing of distribution of Input Service...

Madras High Court Allows Enforcement Of Foreign Arbitral Award Against Non-Signatory That Issued Cheque As Security For Claim

The Madras High Court has allowed enforcement of a foreign arbitral award against a group company after noting that it had voluntarily issued a cheque as security for the disputed demurrage claim arising from a shipping contract. A division bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed that by issuing the cheque as security for the award amount, the company had effectively undertaken to satisfy the award if the charterer failed to do so. It therefore could not avoid...

Interim Relief Under Arbitration Act Cannot Supplant Execution Proceedings: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently observed that a petition seeking interim relief under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act cannot be used as a substitute for execution proceedings under the Civil Procedure Code. “An application under Section 9 can supplement but cannot supplant the process of execution contemplated through Order XXI of the Code,” Justice N. Anand Venkatesh said. The court explained that although a Section 9 petition may remain maintainable until an arbitral award...

Writ Not Maintainable Against MSME Council Award When Remedy Exists Under Arbitration Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has reiterated that a writ petition challenging an arbitral award passed by a Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council cannot ordinarily be entertained when the aggrieved party has an effective statutory remedy under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. A single bench of Justice V. Lakshminarayanan observed that parties cannot invoke writ jurisdiction under Article 226 to set aside such awards when the arbitration statute itself provides a mechanism...

Transfer Pricing Adjustment Cannot Amount To 'Misreporting of Income': Madras High Court Quashes Penalty On Verizon

The Madras High Court has recently quashed penalty proceedings against Verizon Data Services India Pvt Ltd, holding that a transfer pricing adjustment based on estimation of arm's length price cannot by itself constitute “misreporting of income” under Section 270A of the Income Tax Act.A single-bench of Justice C. Saravanan, while quashing the penalty order and rejection of its immunity application against Verizon observed,"The entire basis for initiation of penalty proceedings is the transfer...

Madras High Court Upholds Notification Applying Excise Act Recovery Provision To Clean Environment Cess

The Madras High Court has upheld a Central Government notification applying provisions of the Central Excise Act, including those governing recovery of duties not levied or short-paid, to Clean Environment Cess. A Division Bench of Justice G. R. Swaminathan and Justice R. Kalaimathi held that the expression “levy” in the Finance Act, 2010 includes the processes of assessment and collection, allowing the government to extend recovery provisions of the Central Excise Act to the cess through...