High Court Rulings


Franchisee commission liable to VAT, not Service Tax; Distinguishes Malabar Gold ruling 

Commission received under franchisee agreement for use of trademark and goodwill of supermarket liable to Tamil Nadu sales tax and not service tax; Right to use trademark for 10 years to others' exclu...View More

No difference between "NIL" and "Free" rates, Upholds duty hike on wheat 

HC upholds customs duty hike at 50% on import of wheat in terms of Notification No. 127/99 - Cus; Sec. 8-A of Customs Tariff Act empowers Central Govt to increase rates of articles falling under First...View More

Compound tax payable on establishment turnover in toto, Dissection into branches unwarranted 

HC disallows proportionate reduction / splitting up of annual turnover for compounded tax computation u/s 8(f)(i) of Kerala VAT Act, 2003; Rejects assessee's plea for exclusion of previous year's turn...View More

Adjudication of all refund objections must, Directs CBEC to issue administrative guidelines

HC calls for administrative guidelines for deciding of refund claim objections by Assessing Officer / first Appellate Authority; Directs CBEC to issue Circular to avoid prolonged litigation, in intere...View More

Upholds appeal dismissal on failure to pre-deposit, Relies on Bhavya Apparel ruling 

Failure to comply with order of pre-deposit necessarily entails dismissal of appeal u/s 35B of Central Excise Act; Rejects assessee's contention that non-compliance with pre-deposit must result in dec...View More

Allows interim stay on recovery pending Service Tax Amnesty application 

Allows stay of garnishee proceedings for recovery of service tax dues pursuant to search; Assessee made an application under Service Tax Amnesty Scheme and prima facie demonstrated fulfilment of eligi...View More

Enhanced Customs duty applicable where duty revised at time of delivery 

Confirms enhanced customs duty on import of gold made earlier by State Trading Corporation on behalf of assessee, where duty revised at the time of delivery to the assessee; Enhanced rate of duty appl...View More

Speed post valid method of serving order; Appeal barred by Limitation 

Service of order through speed post a valid mode of service u/s 37C of Central Excise Act; No difference between registered post and speed post since both sent through same agency; Pasting of order at...View More

No service tax on Clubs, Accepts 'mutuality' contention 

Club services to members not taxable u/s 65(105)(zzze) r/w Sec 65(25a) and 66 of Finance Act; Accepts petitioners' plea on mutuality principle, whereby transaction between club and its members cannot ...View More

Directs pre-deposit distinguishing AP HC Ruling, Input credit on construction services not available 

Directs pre-deposit of 35% of CENVAT Credit on inputs used for construction of building (i.e. mall), however clearly holds that observation would not affect merits of case; Assessee can't claim credit...View More