Customs Act | Penalty Cannot Be Sustained Solely On S. 108 Statements Without Compliance Of S. 138B: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that statements recorded under S. 108 of the Customs Act cannot form the basis for imposing penalties unless the mandatory procedural safeguards under Section 138B are complied with.Justices A. Muhamed Mustaque and Harisankar V. Menon opined that Section 138B is essentially in the form of a procedural safeguard regarding the admission of statements under Section 108...

Ex-Director Cannot Be Compelled To Represent Company In PMLA Case: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently held that a former director cannot be forced to represent a company in a money-laundering case after he has left the company. Allowing a criminal revision petition filed by the former director of Dish Pruduction and Media Ltd, a bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee ruled that the prosecution has no power to decide who should appear on behalf of a company...

Mozambique Coal Mine Dispute: Delhi High Court Refuses To Stay $10.53 Million Bank Guarantee Encashment

The Delhi High Court recently dismissed a petition filed by Black Gold Resources Private Limitada to prevent the termination of its coal mining contract in Mozambique as well as the invocation of a $10.5 million Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) by International Coal Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and Minas De Benga Limitada. While withdrawing an earlier interim stay, Justice Jasmeet Singh on December...

CCI Closes Developers' Case Against Haryana Town-Planning Authorities Over Statutory Development Charges

The Competition Commission of India has closed abuse of dominance complaints filed by real estate developer ILD Housing Projects Private Limited and industry body CREDAI-NCR against Haryana's town planning authorities, holding that competition law does not apply to disputes arising from statutory town-planning and licensing functions. In an order dated December 16, 2025, a bench led...

NCLT Clears Merger Of RedBus India Into MakeMyTrip India

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chandigarh Bench, has approved a merger that will bring RedBus India Private Limited into MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited. The move will allow the MakeMyTrip group to run its main Indian travel and bus ticketing businesses through a single operating company.The order was passed by a coram of Judicial Member Khetrabasi Biswal and Technical...

NCLT Recalls Insolvency Over Forged Documents, Imposes ₹50 Lakh Penalty On Financial Creditor

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi, has set aside insolvency proceedings against SLR Techinfra Pvt. Ltd., a real estate and infrastructure development company, and imposed a Rs 50 lakh penalty on Endless Services Pvt. Ltd., a private services firm, for malicious and fraudulent initiation of insolvency proceedings. Recalling its earlier order admitting the Corporate...

NCLAT Dismisses Tamil Nadu State Tax Dept's Belated Claim In Sri NagaNanthana Mills Liquidation

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) at Chennai has dismissed an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Tax Department, holding that belated tax claims cannot be entertained once liquidation proceedings have attained finality. A bench of Judicial Member Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma and Technical Member Jatindranath Swain reiterated that timelines are strict under the insolvency...

Service Tax | Pairing & Testing Smart-Cards For Set-Top-Boxes Qualifies As Job Work: Bombay High Court Allows Credit

The Bombay High Court has upheld the Mumbai Tribunal's decision allowing Dish TV to retain CENVAT Credit on imported smart cards, which were used for testing and pairing with Set Top Boxes. A Division Bench comprising, Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar dismissed the appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against order by the Mumbai, Customs, Excise and...

No Employer-Employee Relationship Between Principal Employer & Workman Engaged Through Contractor : Delhi HC

A Delhi High Court Bench comprising Justice Renu Bhatnagar held that a workman engaged through a contractor is not an employee of the principal employer if the claimant fails to prove a direct employer-employee relationship with credible evidence. Background Facts The workman was a Driveway Sales Man (DSM) for Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) since 2001. He was terminated in 2005....

LIC Cannot Deny Accidental Death Benefit On 'Hyper-Technical' Grounds: Chandigarh Consumer Commission

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, comprising Amrinder Singh Sidhu (President) and B.M. Sharma (Member), has held that insurance companies cannot reject legitimate claims by taking shelter behind minor or hyper-technical objections, particularly when the insured has acted in good faith. Holding the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) guilty of deficiency...

LiveLawBiz: Business Law Daily Round-Up: December 20, 2025

TaxCan GST Be Levied On Medicines Supplied During In-Patient Treatment? Delhi High Court To ExamineIncome Tax Act | S.153C Trigger Starts On Handing-Over Date, Not Search Date: Delhi High Court ITC Cannot Be Denied To Purchasing Dealer Solely Due To Retrospective Cancellation Of Supplier's GST Registration: Calcutta High Court GST Not Leviable On Interest/Penalty Charged By Chit Fund...

Delhi High Court Cancels Trademark Similar To Punjab Football Club Held By Apparel Company

The Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of the “PFC” trademark registered in favor of Posshusa Apparels India Private Limited, holding that the mark was deceptively similar to the trademarks of Punjab Football Club and had remained unused since its registration. By an order dated December 11, 2025, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora allowed a plea filed by Punjab FC, a...