Madras High Court
Madras High Court Says Appeal Against Fresh Assessment Order Statutorily Barred, Remands BHEL Matter
The Madras High Court on 10 August remanded Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited's (BHEL) tax matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh assessment. A Division Bench comprising Justices Dr. G. Jayachandran and N. Mala passed the order while disposing of a Tax Case Revision filed by BHEL against the order of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. The judges held: “The assessment orders in the instant case and the orders of the Appellate Authority are verbose and detailed. However, the fact remains that...
Madras High Court Upholds Deletion Of ₹70.95 Cr. Tax Additions In Bogus Long Term Capital Gains Cases
The Madras High Court on 28 August upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's orders deleting tax additions of Rs. 32.90 crore and Rs. 38.05 crore in cases concerning Long Term Capital Gains claimed from the sale of shares in PFL Infotech Limited and Risa International Limited. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed the Revenue's appeals and the connected appeals concerning penalty under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax...
Madras High Court Refuses To Lift Injunction Against Chennai Trader Over Use Of GLOBE Mark For Padlocks
The Madras High Court has refused to vacate an injunction restraining Chennai trader Vikas Mandoth from using a “GLOBE” mark on padlocks and other hardware goods. The court prima facie concluded that Shanghai Huanqiu Lock Making Company Ltd. was the prior user of the mark and had established reputation and goodwill in the market, while Mandoth's mark/device was phonetically and visually similar.Justice K. Kumaresh Babu also noted that Mandoth's trademark application, filed in 2023, stated that...
Madras High Court Directs Provisional Release Of Imported Equipment, Rejects Reliance On Later Amendment
The Madras High Court has directed Customs authorities to consider the provisional release of consignments of second-hand highly specialised equipment.Justice Hemant Chandangoudar held that a later amendment to the applicable exemption notification could not be relied upon to deny release of goods covered by Bills of Lading issued before the amendment came into force.The petitioner had imported second-hand highly specialised equipment, namely digital multifunction print and copying...
Airport Entry-Ticket Licensee Liable For Service Tax Only From June 1, 2007: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has ruled that an airport entry-ticket licensee was liable to pay service tax only from June 1, 2007, and not for the earlier period.The court observed that the law was amended from that date to specifically bring the renting of immovable property within the service tax net. For the period before June 1, 2007, it noted that the Delhi High Court had ruled that service tax did not apply to the rental/licence fee in question.“...the appellant is liable to pay service tax as an...
Copyright Disputes Can Be Resolved Through Arbitration Despite Remedy Under Copyright Act: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has ruled that a copyright infringement dispute can be resolved through arbitration when the parties have agreed to that mode of dispute resolution, holding that the civil remedy available under the Copyright Act does not prevent arbitration.Justice K. Kumaresh Babu ruled,“It is true that Section 55 provides for a civil remedy in an infringement of a copyright. There can be no doubt that the civil remedy can also be by a process of arbitration, as arbitration is in the form...
Madras High Court Upholds GST Authorities' Power To Block Electronic Credit Ledger For Tax Recovery
The Madras High Court on 25 August held that Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities can block an electronic credit ledger, including through a negative blocking entry, to recover tax dues, even where recovery proceedings arising from the assessment order have been stayed. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the ruling while disposing of a writ petition filed by Zigma Machinery & Equipment Solutions against the Assistant Commissioner, Coimbatore-I Division. The Bench held: “In...
Madras High Court Allows Theatrical Release Of Jayam Ravi-Starrer 'Karathey Babu' Amid Copyright Dispute
On 1 September, the Madras High Court permitted Screen Scene Media Entertainment to proceed with the theatrical release of Tamil film Karathey Babu, starring Jayam Ravi, and modified an interim injunction that had restrained the producer from releasing, distributing or otherwise dealing with the film. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu passed the order on applications filed by Screen Scene Media Entertainment seeking to vacate the interim injunction in a suit filed by Dr. S. Venkatesh. The Bench...
Madras High Court Rejects Vinbros Plea To Sue Rivals Over 'Blue Grape' Trademark
The Madras High Court on 28 August rejected liquor manufacturer Vinbros & Co.'s plea to sue two rival entities, Chamundi Winery and Distillery and R.R. Wine Mart, before it for alleged infringement of its “Blue Grape” trademark. A Bench of Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed: “The fact that the situs of the registration of Trade Marks is with the Trade Marks Registry at Chennai by itself would not be sufficient to give rise to cause of action to institute the suit in the Madras High Court,...
Madras High Court Rejects YouTube's Summary Dismissal Plea In Sri Eshwar College Disparagement Case
The Madras High Court on 28 August declined to summarily dismiss a suit filed by Sri Eshwar College of Engineering against YouTube (Google LLC) over allegedly disparaging videos hosted on the platform, holding that the issue of non-joinder of the video originators could not be decided at the threshold. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu was hearing an application filed by YouTube seeking dismissal of the suit at the threshold, without the matter proceeding to trial. Instead, the Bench directed the...
GST Cannot Be Levied On Penalty Imposed On TASMAC Employee For Stock Shortage: Madras High Court
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on 14 August held that GST cannot be levied on a penalty imposed on an employee for shortage of liquor stock, observing that such a penalty arising from an employer-employee relationship cannot, by itself, be treated as a supply of service under GST law. A Division Bench comprising Justices M. Dhandapani and N. Dilip Kumar made the observation while dismissing an intra-court appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC)....
Madras High Court Rejects Film Archive's Copyright Claim Over 'Aval Appadithan' Production Stills
The Madras High Court on 27 August dismissed an appeal filed by The Cinema Resource Centre, a Chennai-based film archive, in a copyright dispute over production photographs from the 1978 Tamil film Aval Appadithan. A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi upheld the 2021 order of a Single Judge directing the archive to return the original photographs, delete their digital and physical copies, and stop displaying them on its website. The judges observed: “The...