High Court Rulings


Cancellation of seller's Form-C upon retrospective cancellation of purchaser’s registration, unjustified

HC rules in favour of selling dealer (assessee), finds no provision in Central Sales Tax (CST) Act or Rules thereunder to cancel C-Form issued towards concessional tax on inter-state transaction, upon...View More

Cannot invoke Section 5 of Limitation Act to condone delay in revision petition 

HC rules that Section 5 of Limitations Act is inapplicable to revision proceedings before High Court u/s 81 of Assam VAT Act; Language employed in Section 84 of VAT Act (which provides for calculating...View More

Another levy bites dust; Unascertainable 'service' element renders composite construction contracts non-taxable 

Delhi HC rules on levy of service tax on services in relation to construction of residential complex and on preferential location charges collected by builder / developer; Relying on landmark Apex Cou...View More

Preferential rate denial on jewellery imported from Indonesia absent origin verification, unsustainable 

HC sets aside order denying preferential customs duty benefit (Nil rated) on import of gold jewellery from Indonesia under ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA), in terms of Notification No. 46/201...View More

Checks Executive over-reach, strikes down Rule 5A(2) empowering Officers to summon audit reports 

Delhi HC strikes down Rule 5A(2) of the Service Tax Rules 1994 (as amended by Dec. 2014 notification) to the extent it empowers Service Tax Department officers, audit party deputed by Commissioner or ...View More

Customs Dept. a "dealer" liable to tax on confiscated goods' public auction 

HC confirms levy of sales tax on public auction of confiscated goods which are imported in contravention of Customs law, holds Customs Dept. as “dealer” u/s 2(e) of Bihar Finance Act 1981;...View More

Additional conditions by Narcotics Commissioner for 'poppy seeds' import, violative of Articles 14 / 19(1)(g) 

HC allows writ petition, sets aside Public Notice No. PS-1/2016 dated January 27, 2016 issued by Commissioner of Narcotics in relation to import of poppy seeds, holding same in violation of fundamenta...View More

'IIT' a "Governmental Authority"; Construction of academic complex exempt from service tax 

HC grants service tax exemption to contractor undertaking construction of academic complex at IIT Patna, in terms of Notification No. 25/2012-ST r/w Notification No. 2/2014-ST; Notes that IIT has been...View More

Right of appeal not 'absolute'; Sec 35F amendment mandating pre-deposit applicable retrospectively 

HC refuses to declare amendment to Sec 35F of Central Excise Act r/w Sec 83 of Finance Act stipulating mandatory pre-deposit, as applicable only to show cause proceedings initiated after August 6, 201...View More

Finmin restricting alienation of goods imported under SFIS violative of FTP provisions

HC finds restriction on transfer / sale of goods imported using ‘Served From India Scheme’ (SFIS) duty credit scrips imposed by Notification No. 91/2009-Cus, in violation of Foreign Trade ...View More