High Court Rulings


Allows release of attached properties; Protects bonafide purchasers from liability of vendors’ tax dues 

Madras HC dismisses State’s writ appeals and upholds the removal of encumbrances imposed on properties purchased by bonafide purchasers from the defaulting taxpayers, holding that in absence of ...View More

Directs provisional release of “body-massager” consignments; Rejects Customs’ obscenity-based classification pending uniform CBIC policy 

Delhi HC directs provisional release of consignments imported by TECHSYNC (Assessee) declared as “body massagers”, rejecting Customs’ stand that the products were mis-declared sex to...View More

Upholds classification of “Frooti” as Non-Alcoholic Beverage applying Common Parlance Test 

Chhattisgarh HC in a writ appeal, upholds the Single Judge judgment that “Frooti” is ‘non-alcoholic beverage’ within Entry 14 of Schedule II of the Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act, ...View More

Sets aside assessment, holding enforcement officers lack authority to assess without proper delegation 

Delhi HC, in a batch of appeals quashes all assessment orders passed u/s-32 and 33 of the Delhi VAT Act, 2004 holding them to be jurisdictionally invalid as they were issued by audit/enforcement offic...View More

Quashes revival of VAT Assessment against Indian Oil- Adani JV citing statutory procedural infractions 

Orissa HC, noting “…serious flaw in application of statutory provisions..” of the OVAT Act, quashes the VAT Audit Assessment Order and the notice in Form VAT-306, issued against Ind...View More

Sanctions Goldman Sach interest on delayed refund of unutilized CENVAT-credit 

Karnataka HC allows Goldman Sachs petition seeking interest on belated sanction of refund for unutilized CENVAT credit from October, 2007 to June, 2017; Refund was sanctioned during March, 2009 to Jun...View More

Absent contemporary uniform policy, Customs cannot subjectively brand products as ‘Adult Toys’ for seizure 

Delhi HC holds that Customs offilcials cannot, in the absence of a uniform and contemporary policy, seize imported ‘Face Rollers’ by subjectively branding them as ‘adult toys’ ...View More

Delhi HC dismisses Revenue’s appeal against CESTAT order citing 6-year unexplained delay 

Delhi HC dismisses Revenue’s appeal filed under Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 against the 2018 CESTAT order, noting that the order was pronounced in the presence of the Department&...View More

Permits appeal to Tribunal beyond limitation, excluding time spent before wrong forum in good faith 

Karnataka HC permits the Assessee to approach the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal against the suo motu revision order passed u/s 63A of the KVAT Act beyond the limitation period, noting that the Assessee...View More

Upholds CESTAT-order granting compensatory interest on delayed refund to Vedanta; Reduces rate to 6% 

Orissa HC, while upholding the CESTAT’s competence to award compensatory interest on delayed refund, observes that “… the pith and substance of the case leaves no ambiguity that the...View More