High Court Rulings


Expert opinion on classification cannot be rejected without reasoned technical rebuttal; Quashes demand against Mahindra 

Bombay HC quashes Order-in-Original denying Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (Assessee) concessional Basic Customs Duty (BCD) of 2.5% under Sr. No. 512 of Notification No. 50/2017-Customs (Exemption Notif...View More

Salvage-equipment/stores exemption dispute connected with “rate of duty”; Appeal lies before Supreme Court 

Bombay HC declines to entertain Revenue’s customs appeals concerning the question of exemption of ‘stores’ imported for conducting salvage operations of the vessel ‘MSC Chitra&...View More

Railways’ IRFC-financed ‘rolling-stock’ not uniformly sales; Quashes Rs.533-cr demand, orders fresh assessment 

In a batch of ten writ petitions by Ministry of Railways (Assessee) concerning Sales Tax levy on rolling stock financed through Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd. (IRFC) for AYs 1987-88 to 1996-9...View More

Invoking consistency principle, no fraud/suppression, upholds demand drop against beverage manufacturer/seller to UBL customers 

Bombay HC (Aurangabad Bench), in a matter concerning Service Tax demand on Millennium Beer Industries Ltd. (Assessee, now amalgamated with United Breweries Ltd./UBL) for services rendered to UBL, dism...View More

Upholds service-tax on C&F services; Quashes demand on bending, bundling & stock verification services 

Affirming that the Assessee firm provided clearing and forwarding (C&F) services to the companies - Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) and Tata Ryerson Limited (TRL), Calcutta HC upholds the serv...View More

Solar modules “intended for use” in MOOWR warehouse not time-bound for removal, no interest u/s 61(2) 

Rajasthan HC (Jaipur Bench) dismisses Revenue’s appeal and upholds CESTAT Delhi ruling which held that solar modules imported by Respondent under the Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehous...View More

Directs refund of additional customs duty with interest absent charging provision, Rule 96(10) omission 

Bombay HC directs refund of additional customs duty paid along-with interest at the time of goods that were imported, processed and subsequently exported on which refund of IGST was claimed upon expor...View More

Upholds Rs.425-cr personal penalty on diamond supplier for abetting misdeclared exports

Gujarat HC upholds the personal penalty of Rs. 425 crores imposed on a local supplier of natural diamonds (Assessee), allegedly involved in fraudulent attempt to export diamonds; Holds that Petitioner...View More

Airlines liable for mandatory penalty on delayed Foreign Travel Tax payment; Subordinate-law ceiling cannot override statutory threshold 

Bombay HC, in a common judgment concerning Malaysian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, North West Airlines and Kenya Airways Ltd., upholds penalties imposed under Section 38(3) of the Finance Act, 197...View More

Liability to pay interest not extinguished merely on settlement of duty by Settlement Commission 

Delhi HC holds that the liability to pay interest is a statutory consequence of the liability to pay duty and does not stand extinguished merely because the quantum of duty is settled by the Settlemen...View More