Amount Deposited Under Protest During Customs Probe Can Be Adjusted Towards Pre-Deposit In Appeal: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that an amount deposited with the Customs under protest, during investigation by the Department, can be adjusted towards pre-deposit to be made when filing appeal against its order.For context, Section 129E of the Customs Act, 1962 requires deposit of 7.5% of the amounts which are in dispute, when filing an appeal before Commissioner (Appeals) or CESTAT.In the...

Assessee Missed Hearing Due To Faulty VC Link & Hearing Email Sent At 3AM: Kerala High Court Quashes CIT(A) Order

The Kerala High Court has set aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) after finding that the assessee missed the hearing due to the non-functional video-conference link (VC link) and because the hearing link was emailed at an odd hour, i.e., at 3:13 a.m. CDT (Central Daylight Time) while he was in the U.S. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. stated that the assessee...

Income Tax Act | Alternative Remedy No Bar When Reassessment Notice Lacks Jurisdiction U/S 148/149: Sikkim High Court

The Sikkim High Court stated that when the reassessment notice itself is illegal, issued without jurisdiction, or beyond the time limit prescribed under the Income Tax Act, the Court can directly examine the validity of the notice under Article 226, even though an appeal under the Act is otherwise available.A Single Bench of the Sikkim High Court, comprising Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai,...

International Tax Cases Not Exempt From Faceless Reassessment Regime: Bombay High Court Quashes S.148 IT Act Notice

The Bombay High Court quashed the reassessment notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, stating that the reassessment notice did not follow the mandate that the Faceless Assessing Officer only has the jurisdiction to reopen the assessment and not the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer. It was further stated that even international taxation matters could be made subject...

Service Tax | Once Pre-Deposit Condition Is Fulfilled, Appeal Must Be Heard On Merits: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court held that once an appeal was dismissed for non-compliance with the mandatory pre-deposit of the Service Tax amount, the Appellate Authority does not become functus officio and was competent to decide the appeal on merits if the mandatory condition of pre-deposit of 7.5% of the Service Tax amount was subsequently complied with by the assessee. A Division...

Dispute Over Property Used Exclusively For Trade Constitutes Commercial Dispute Even If Situated In Residential Area: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court held that a dispute arising from a lease agreement under which premises were used actually used for running a retail showroom qualifies as a commercial dispute under section 2(1)(c)(vii) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 even if the property is situated in a residential zone under the Municipal Law. A Division Bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice...

Delhi High Court Grants SanDisk Permanent Injunction Against Indian Company's Copycat Trade Dress

The Delhi High Court has granted a permanent injunction in favour of SanDisk LLC, the global flash-storage manufacturer, after Welborn Industries Pvt. Ltd., an Indian electronics company that sells memory-storage products, agreed to permanently discontinue packaging that SanDisk said copied the distinctive red-and-black trade dress of its USB drives and SD cards. Justice Manmeet Pritam...

Bombay High Court Restrains City Hotel From Infringing Five-Star Hotel Chain Orchid's Trademark

The Bombay High Court has restrained “Orchid Hotel and Hostel” from using the word “Orchid” for its hospitality services, after finding that the name infringes the registered trademark of Kamat Hotels (India) Limited, which runs the five-star hotel chain “The Orchid”. The ad-interim injunction will remain in force until December 3, 2025. A single bench of Justice Sharmila U...

Predominant Purpose Of Industry Is Essential For Determining Bracket Of Cess Taxation: Allahabad High Court

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that in determining cess for an industry, the assessing authority must consider the predominant purpose of the industry. “In this case where the question is whether a particular industry is an industry as covered in Schedule I of the Act, it has to be judged normally by what that industry produces mainly. Every industry carries...

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Cannot Pass Ex-Parte Orders Without Recording Reasons For Denying Adjournment: Allahabad High Court

While hearing an appeal under S. 260A of the Income Tax Act, the Allahabad High Court has held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal cannot reject adjournment applications and pass ex-parte orders without recording reasons for such dismissal. It was held that if the Tribunal was allowed to do such a thing, it would hamper the right of the parties to a reasonable opportunity...

Use Of Word 'Determined' In SCN Shows Pre-Determination; S.74 Invocation Unsustainable: Madras High Court Quashes GST Demand

The Madras High Court has held that using the word 'Determined' in the show cause notice (SCN) betrays an element of pre-determination on the part of the authority. The bench highlighted that the show cause notice must clearly specify whether the assessee is being charged with fraud, suppression or wilful misstatement to invoke section 74 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services...

Order Refusing To Terminate Arbitration Is Not An Interim Award: Bombay High Court Dismisses Challenge U/S 34 A&C Act

The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (Arbitration Act) challenging an order passed by the Arbitral Tribunal by which it had refused to terminate the ongoing proceedings holding that the order was merely a prima facie view, interlocutory one and not an arbitral award capable of being challenged. Justice...