Bombay High Court Stays Fraud Proceedings Against Anil Ambani Over Prima Facie Defective Forensic Audit

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday stayed fraud classification proceedings initiated by Indian Overseas Bank, IDBI Bank and Bank of Baroda against Anil Ambani, founder and chairman of the Reliance Group, after prima facie finding serious defects in the forensic audit relied upon by the banks. A single-judge bench of Justice Milind N. Jadhav, while granting interim relief, held that the...

Reliance Industries Entitled To Proportionate Cenvat Credit On Insurance Services For Post 01.07.2003 Period: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that Reliance Industries Ltd. is entitled to avail Cenvat credit on insurance services on a proportionate basis for the period on or after 01.07.2003, when Business Auxiliary Service became taxable. Somesh Arora (Judicial Member) and Satendra Vikram Singh (Technical Member) examined whether...

NCLT Bengaluru Slaps ₹5 Lakh Penalty On Lifestyle International For Non-Disclosure In Capital Reduction Plea

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru has approved a Rs. 6.08 crore reduction in the share capital of Lifestyle International Private Limited, a fashion and lifestyle retail company, but imposed a Rs. 5 lakh penalty for what it termed a “casual approach” to the proceedings. A coram of Judicial Member Sunil Kumar Aggarwal and Technical Member Radhakrishna Sreepada passed...

IBC Cannot Be Used As Recovery Mechanism To Resolve Contractual Disputes: NCLAT Reaffirms

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at Delhi has reiterated that insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code cannot be used as a recovery mechanism to settle disputed contractual claims. A coram comprising of Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Technical Member Barun Mitra dismissed an appeal filed by FTI Consulting India Pvt. Ltd. against the rejection...

NCLT's Power To Order Forensic Audit Is Self-Ordained, No Separate Application Needed: NCLAT

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at Chennai on Tuesday held that the National Company Law Tribunal can direct a forensic audit on its own even if no party has filed a separate application seeking such relief. A bench of Judicial Member Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Technical Member Indevar Pandey dismissed an appeal filed by Able Automobiles Private Limited and...

Central & State GST Authorities Must Coordinate To Avoid Multiple Adjudications On Same Issue: Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court, applying the Supreme Court's Armour Security case, held that once proceedings are initiated by either the State or Central GST authority, parallel adjudicatory proceedings on the same issue are barred under Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act. The Court directed both authorities to coordinate and ensure that the assessee is not subjected to...

Income Tax | Revised 2024 Compounding Guidelines Cannot Be Applied After Case Attains Finality: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court held that once the assessee's entitlement to compounding had attained finality through earlier orders, then the Income Tax Department could not apply the revised Compounding Guidelines. Justice C. Saravanan referred to the Explanation to Section 279(6) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and noted that the new compounding Guidelines dated 17.10.2024 bearing...

GSTAT Withdraws Staggered Filing Requirement for GST Second Appeals; Allows Unrestricted E-Filing

The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has withdrawn the requirement of staggered filing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) second appeals, allowing appeals to be filed without any phase-wise or date-based restriction. Through an order dated December 16, 2025, issued by the President of the Tribunal, Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, GSTAT revoked its earlier order dated...

CESTAT Mumbai Holds Amendment Of Bills Of Entry U/S 149 Customs Act Is Legally Recognised Mode Of Modifying Assessment

The Mumbai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has allowed an appeal filed by Drive India Enterprises Solutions Ltd., setting aside an order passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) which had rejected a refund of excess countervailing duty (CVD) paid on imported mobile handsets. A Bench comprising Customs, Excise and Service Tax...

Statutory Appeal Cannot Be Rendered Illusory Due To DRAT Vacancies, Administrative Hurdles: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday observed that litigants cannot be denied an effective appellate remedy under debt recovery law when their statutory appeal remains unheard due to tribunal vacancies, recusals and administrative difficulties. On a plea by two auction purchasers, a division bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that while courts...

CCI Approves Blackstone Backed Entity's Stake Acquisition In Federal Bank

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday approved the proposal of Blackstone-backed Asia II Topco XIII Pte. Ltd. to acquire up to a 9.99% stake in Kerala based-private lender Federal Bank Ltd. This will be done through warrant acquisition. Asia II Topco XIII is controlled and managed by affiliates of Blackstone Inc., a global private equity firm with investments across...

Condonation Must Be Considered Despite Deemed Service On GST Portal: Rajasthan HC Sets Aside Dismissal Of GST Appeal On Limitation

The Rajasthan High Court, in a matter concerning effective service of appellate order and consideration of condonation of delay application, has set aside order passed by the Appellate Authority. In a recent judgment a Division Bench comprising, Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjeet Purohit on dismissal of appeal on account of limitation, emphasized that condonation of...