No Service Tax On Cost Allocation For Pet-Care Products Of Mars International: CESTAT Hyderabad

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that Mars International is not liable to service tax on cost allocations for developing pet-care products. The bench further opined that the arrangement with the group companies did not involve a service provider-service recipient relationship, and therefore, the service...

LiveLawBiz: Business Law Round-Up: November 29 - December 1, 2025

IBCIBC | Terminated Contract Not Corporate Debtor's Asset; Moratorium Won't Revive Extinguished Contractual Rights : Supreme CourtNCLT Mumbai Rejects Indo Global Employees' Claims Filed 18 Months Late, Says Stakeholders Must Be VigilantLiquidator Must Recover Assets Even If Attached By Third Parties, Attachment Cannot Override IBC: NCLT BengaluruBuyers Of Commercial Units Are Not...

Mumbai Consumer Commission Orders Niva Bupa To Pay ₹66.50 Lakh For Wrongfully Denying Cancer Treatment Claim

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mumbai Suburban, comprising Smt. Samindara R. Surve (President) and Shri Sameer S. Kamble (Member), held Niva Bupa Health Insurance Ltd. liable for deficiency in service for wrongfully cancelling the complainant's policy and rejecting his overseas cancer treatment claim. The Commission found that the insurer's...

NCLT Ahmedabad Orders Liquidation of Girdhari International After Finding Collusion With Resolution Applicants

The National Company Law Tribunal at Ahmedabad has held that the resolution plan for Girdhari International Private Limited was a "collusive arrangement" between the resolution applicant and the sole financial creditor, Drip Capital Inc., and refused to approve it, ordering liquidation instead. The tribunal said that “the entire exercise suggests an accommodation or collusive...

Pending Cheque-Bounce Case Not A Bar To Admitting Insolvency Plea: NCLT Mumbai

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Mumbai has recently ruled that the pendency of cheque-bounce proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act does not prevent initiation of insolvency proceedings, while admitting an application filed by Rexel India Private Limited seeking to commence the corporate insolvency resolution process against Proto D Industries Private Limited. The coram...

Tobacco Transport By Individual Truck Owners Not Goods Transport Agency: CESTAT Quashes Service Tax Demand

The Hyderabad Bench of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside service tax demand on Indian Tobacco Traders under the heading Goods Transport Agency (GTA) Service, as tobacco leaves were transported through individual truck owners. In an order dated November 28, 2025 the Bench comprising Mr. A.K. Jyotishi (Technical Member) and Mr. Angad Prasad...

Bunker Supply Of Fuel To ASEAN Explorer Is Duty-Free Export: CESTAT Quashes Excise Demand Against Bharat Petroleum

The Bangalore Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that bunker supplies of High Viscosity Furnace Oil (HVFO) made by Bharat Petroleum to the vessel to 'cable ship ASEAN explorer' qualify as duty-free exports under Rule 19 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, read with Notification No. 46/2001-CE(NT). P.A. Augustian (Judicial Member) and...

No Double Pre-Deposit For Same Tax Demand; Second Appeal Cannot Be Conditioned On Fresh Payment: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that when a taxpayer has already deposited the mandatory 10% pre-deposit for the same disputed tax amount before the State GST Appellate Authority, the Central GST authorities cannot insist on another separate pre-deposit for the same amount while filing a second appeal. The Bench stated that the law does not permit duplication of pre-deposit for the same...

Centre Revamps Patent Penalty Rules; Appeal Period Now Begins On Receipt Of Order Instead of Date Of Order

The Centre government has overhauled the penalty adjudication mechanism under the Patents Rules, 2003 after notifying the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which came into force on November 25, 2025. The amendment substitutes the entire Chapter XIV A -Adjudictaion Of Penalties and Appeals, that had been introduced in 2024 and introduces several procedural changes while retaining the structure...

RERA Orders Not Decrees, Cannot Be Executed Through Civil Courts: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently ruled that an order passed by a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) does not amount to a civil court decree and cannot be executed through civil execution proceedings, holding that RERA orders must be enforced only through the statutory recovery mechanism provided under the Act. A single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said the statutory scheme...

Finance Ministry Tables Bill To Hike Excise On Tobacco, Introduces New Cess On Pan Masala

On December 1, 2025, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, which will replace the existing Compensation Cess. The Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeks “to give the government the fiscal space to increase the rate of central excise duty...

Income Tax Act | Payment For IPLC Services Not 'Royalty' U/S 9; Assessee Entitled To Deduction U/S 40(a)(i): Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that payment for IPLC (International Private Leased Circuits) Services does not constitute 'royalty' under Section 9 of the Income Tax Act, and that the assessee is entitled to a deduction under Section 40(a)(i) of the Income Tax Act. Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan examined whether the payment made by the assessee for...