Corporate
Use of Tissue Culture Technology Does Not Bar Tax Exemption On Agricultural Income: Telangana High Court
The Telangana High Court has held that income earned from the sale of tissue-cultured plants qualifies as agricultural income and is therefore exempt from income tax, though advanced scientific techniques are used in their cultivation. The Bench of Justices P Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda heard a case where the assessee (appellant), who was engaged in the business of micropropagation...
Madras High Court Quashes CESTAT Chennai Order For Deciding Issues Not Under Appeal
The Madras High Court has pulled up the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Chennai for overstepping its mandate, quashing its order and holding that the Tribunal cannot decide issues that were never appealed before it. A Bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi said that although Section 129-B of the Customs Act, 1962 confers wide powers on the...
Jharkhand High Court Scraps 'Net Charges' Formula For Electricity Duty Levy, Flags Excessive Delegation
The Jharkhand High Court on Monday struck down a proviso introduced by a state amendment to the Bihar Electricity Duty Act, 1948 that allowed electricity duty to be levied as a percentage of consumers' “net charges”. The court held that the legislature had delegated its taxing power to the executive without laying down any policy guidance. It further held that empowering the state...
HMT Takes Final Step To Close HMT Watches, Files Application With Ministy Of Corporate Affairs
HMT, one of the nation's oldest public sector manufacturing brands, has taken the final step to shut down its watchmaking arm, HMT Watches Limited, by filing an application to strike off the company with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on January 6, 2026. The filing was disclosed by HMT Limited in a regulatory filling with the stock exchanges. HMT Watches, once known as the 'Timekeeper...
Bombay High Court Refuses Interim Relief To Minco India Against Group Company Over 'MINCO' Mark
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant interim relief to Minco India Private Limited in a trademark dispute over the use of the word “MINCO”. The court held that the company had suppressed material facts and had allowed the rival firm to use the name since at least 2012 without objection. Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh dismissed an interim application seeking to restrain Minco...
CESTAT Delhi Quashes Customs Duty Demand On Bharti Airtel In Router Parts Classification Dispute
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi, on Tuesday quashed the levy of differential customs duty on telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited. It held that the imported router components were classifiable as “parts of routers” and not as “Network Interface Cards (NICs) or standalone communication apparatus” under the customs tariff. A coram comprising...
Can Service Tax Be Levied On Transfer of Development Rights? Delhi High Court To Decide
The Delhi High Court on Monday took up a Revenue appeal that squarely raises the question of whether the transfer of development rights constitutes a taxable service under the Finance Act, 1994. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul issued notice in an appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against an order of the Delhi Customs, Excise and Service Tax...
CESTAT Chandigarh Restores Customs Broker Licence Over Violation Of Regulatory Timelines
The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chandigarh has set aside the suspension of a customs broker's licence after finding that the authorities themselves failed to follow the timelines laid down under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018. Calling the delay fatal, the tribunal directed that the licence be restored within four weeks. A coram of...
NCLT Mumbai Approves Sagacious Capital's Rs 110 Crore Plan To Revive Reliance Innoventures
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Mumbai has approved a Rs. 110.10 crore resolution plan submitted by Sagacious Capital Pvt Ltd for the revival of debt-ridden Reliance Innoventures Pvt Ltd. The tribunal held that once a plan satisfies the requirements of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the tribunal cannot interfere with the commercial decisions of lenders. A...
Software Ownership Disputes Involving IPR Not Arbitrable: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has recently held that an arbitral tribunal was right in refusing to decide who owns a software product, saying such questions involve intellectual property rights that affect the public at large (rights in rem) and cannot be settled through private arbitration.A Single-Judge Bench of Justice Sandeep V Marne said that deciding ownership of the “Test Magic” software...
Avoidance Provisions Under Insolvency Code Are Restorative, Not Punitive: NCLT Kochi
The National Company Law Tribunal at Kochi has clarified that the avoidance provisions under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code are meant to undo the preferential effect of certain transactions and restore the corporate debtor's estate, not to impose punitive liability on the beneficiary. Judicial Member Vinay Goel made the observation while partly allowing an avoidance application filed by...