CESTAT Mumbai Reiterates 10% Customs Duty Benefit On Enterprise Ethernet Switches

Reiterating that customs authorities cannot deny a concessional duty without objective evidence, the Mumbai bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal has allowed Digisol Systems' appeal and extended the benefit of 10% customs duty on imported enterprise Ethernet switches and transceivers.A bench comprising Judicial Member S.K. Mohanty and Technical Member M.M. Prathiban was hearing an appeal filed by Digisol Systems, a provider of IT networking solutions and consultancy...

Promise To Arrange Funds In Case of Default Does Not Make Promoter A Guarantor: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has held that a promoter's promise to arrange funds to help a borrower meet financial covenants does not amount to a contract of guarantee under the Indian Contract Act and cannot be used to fasten insolvency liability on the promoter. A bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Alok Aradhe said that for an obligation to qualify as a guarantee under Section 126 of the Act, there must be a clear and unambiguous promise by the surety to repay the borrower's debt if the...

Mere Stock Shortage Not Proof Of Clandestine Removal: CESTAT Allahabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Allahabad has held that a shortage of goods found during a departmental inspection cannot, by itself, justify allegations of clandestine removal. The final outcome came after a split verdict was resolved by a third member, S.S. Garg, who agreed that stock shortages alone cannot be treated as proof of illegal clearances. Garg underlined that “mere shortage of goods does not lead to the conclusion that the goods have been removed...

Special Court Cannot Hear Private Complaints In Companies Act Fraud Cases; Only SFIO Can File: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday held that a special court cannot entertain a private complaint in cases involving fraud under the Companies Act. It ruled that where an offence attracts punishment under the fraud provision, cognisance can be taken only on a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office or an authorised officer of the Central government. A Division Bench of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice K Vinod Chandran held that offences under Section 448 of the Companies Act, which...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Arbitration Against Bhushan Steel Following Tata Steel Takeover

The Delhi High Court has set aside an arbitral tribunal order that allowed arbitration to continue against Tata Steel, formerly Bhushan Steel, even after its resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was approved. A single-judge bench of Justice Amit Sharma allowed Tata Steel's writ petition and quashed the tribunal's October 7, 2020 order. The court said that once a resolution plan is approved, it binds all creditors. “The Resolution Plan had attained finality and would be...

Sale Agreements Do Not Mean Flats Are Held In Trust For Homebuyers During Builder Insolvency: NCLT Kochi

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Kochi has ruled that apartments and project land covered only by sale or construction agreements cannot be treated as “assets held in trust” for homebuyers when a builder enters insolvency. The tribunal said such properties continue to belong to the builder during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process until sale deeds are executed and registered. A coram of Judicial Member Vinay Goel said the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code does not permit...

Income Tax | Shares Received On Amalgamation Can Be Taxed as Business Income If Held As Stock-in-Trade: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that when shares held as stock-in-trade are replaced with shares of another company under an amalgamation scheme, the allotment can result in taxable business income, provided the new shares can be realised in money and have a definite value. The bench, consisting of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, opined that "where the shares of an amalgamating company, held as stock-in-trade, are substituted by shares of the amalgamated company pursuant to a scheme of...

Delhi High Court Pulls Up Income Tax CPC For Tax Recovery Despite Stay, Issues Directions For Coordination

The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Income Tax Department's Centralised Processing Centre for recovering tax dues from a taxpayer even though a stay on recovery was already in place, saying such lapses are unacceptable in a fully digitized system. A division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar said the department cannot plead ignorance once a stay order is passed. “In the era of computerization, where even assessments are made online, Income Tax returns are filed online, appeals...

Arbitral Proceedings Commence On Respondent Receiving Notice Invoking Arbitration Clause, Not On Arbitrator's Appointment : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the arbitral proceedings are set to commence on the date of receipt of notice invoking the arbitration clause by the respondent. “...the date on which the respondent receives a notice or request invoking arbitration is the moment at which the arbitral proceedings commence under Section 21 of the Act. It further clarified that a valid invocation requires the notice to articulate the dispute sought to be referred but once such notice is received, commencement is...

Customs Act | Statutory Tariff Headings And HSN Notes Prevail Over Common Parlance In Customs Classification : Supreme Court

The Court summarised the principles relating to classification tests and use of trade parlance.

Mere Participation In Arbitration Won't Bar Challenge To Arbitrator's Eligibility, Waiver Must Be "Express & In Writing" : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that a party's involvement in arbitral proceedings does not, in itself, constitute a waiver of its right to object to an arbitrator's eligibility. The Court clarified that the right to object can only be waived by an express written agreement, rejecting any notion of a "deemed waiver" arising from conduct alone under Section 12(5) of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996.“The words “an express agreement in writing” in the proviso to Section 12(5) means that the...

Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code: Important Judgments By Supreme Court In 2025

In this article, LiveLaw brings to you a summary of important judgments rendered by the Supreme Court in 2025 in connection with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The same are as follows:1. 'IBC A Complete Code' : Supreme Court Disapproves Of High Court Exercising Writ Jurisdiction To Interdict CIRPCase: Mohammed Enterprises (Tanzania) Ltd. v. Farooq Ali Khan & Ors. [Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 19]In this case, a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra disapproved of a High...