GST demand remanded for fresh adjudication on merits subject to pre-deposit and opportunity to file reply

Admitted GST liability for delayed tax remittance sustains assessment demand despite challenge to the confirmation order.

Waiver scheme order set aside for lack of effective hearing, with matter remanded for fresh consideration.

E-way bill and prescribed documents are necessary for release of detained goods; Supreme Court left detention undisturbed.

Natural justice and supply of relied-upon documents remain central in challenges to tax adjudication and hearing rights.

Bail conditions must be proportionate: an additional bank guarantee was struck down as excessively onerous.

Reassessment beyond three years must show escaped income as an asset, while receivables and special audit can justify reopening.

Jurisdictional challenge to transfer pricing reference leads to ad-interim stay of notice, reference and assessment proceedings.

Reassessment approval requirement under the substituted regime failed where higher-authority sanction was mandatory after three years.

Section 153A additions to completed assessments require incriminating material found during search; absent it, additions fail.

Mandatory statutory transfer is not dividend, so dividend distribution tax under section 115-O does not apply.

Jurisdictional defect in reassessment sanction invalidates reopening when approval comes from an incompetent authority.

Benami transaction: proceeds and post-amendment holdings treated as benami; fiduciary defence denied where personal benefit and control exist.

Limited grounds for review under Prohibition of Benami Act; without mistake or new evidence, voiding of IDS certificates denied.

Benami property under PBPTA affirmed where trusts funded purchase and title stood in another's name for their benefit.

Benami Transactions confirmed; provisional attachment upheld while beneficial owner identity is referred for limited reinvestigation.

Benami transaction: proof of consideration and control by beneficial owner upholds provisional attachment and dismisses appeals.

Fiduciary exception rejected; provisional attachment under benami law affirmed where transfers were one way unaccounted accommodation entries.

Customs refund interest turns on statutory delay: no interest if refund is timely, but departmental delay in reassessment attracts interest.

Custodian liability for customs duty requires proof of pilferage or substitution in custody; mere IGM discrepancy is insufficient.

Customs test reports and no diversion of inputs defeat denial of DFIA and Advance Authorisation benefits.

Shipping bill amendment and duty drawback: a circular time limit cannot defeat statutory correction of procedural errors after export.

Customs exemption for inputs used in manufacture can extend to process scrap if the goods were actually put to use.

Coordinate bench precedent sustained customs duty equivalent to rubber cess on imported natural rubber.

Company Court jurisdiction in advanced winding-up proceedings justified refusal of ad interim stay against the impugned arrangement.

Fraud allegations cannot reopen a scheme approval already affirmed by higher courts where the record shows no substantive fraud.

Composite scheme of arrangement cannot be split to isolate demerger where amalgamation and demerger are clearly interlinked.

Fast-track merger scrutiny requires prior statutory opinion, and special appellate limitation bars condonation beyond the outer limit.

Statutory auditor prosecution fails without specific allegations or mens rea; vague complaints cannot sustain criminal proceedings.

Leave to institute proceedings for specific performance permitted without conferring title; sale process to proceed after fresh valuation.

Fraudulent trading and minimum public shareholding breaches upheld; debarment reduced on proportionality, and appeals dismissed.

No ground to interfere with the tribunal order; the civil appeals were dismissed after delay was condoned.

Show-cause notice response time granted as Supreme Court dismisses appeal and leaves remaining merits open.

Promoter-group status and connected trading can support minimum public shareholding breach and fraudulent market conduct findings.

Fraud and disclosure: post facto shareholder ratification cannot validate diversion of issue proceeds; regulatory penalties restored.

Appellate deference preserved; limited interim withdrawal allowed for urgent expenditure as exception while preserving tribunal enforceability.

Integrated project development rights can form insolvency assets; interim arbitral orders do not override the CIRP moratorium.

Reasoned quasi-judicial orders are mandatory; a cryptic disposal without findings was set aside and remanded.

Settlement under section 12A permitted release of the deposited insolvency amount to the financial creditor

Section 9 insolvency claims must reflect correct credit periods, no pre-existing dispute, and non-fatal notice-petition amount differences.

Demand notice service under insolvency law must be fairly tested before rejecting a section 9 application.

IBC limitation period prevails where delayed appeal lacks sufficient cause for condonation under the special statutory regime.

Delay in issuance of show cause notices invalidates proceedings where preservation expired and no extension was directed.

Preponderance of probabilities: contemporaneous records and admissions suffice to establish foreign-directed payments; penalties must be proportionate.

Prolonged Delay in Adjudication reduces penalty despite corroborative evidence, resulting in partial allowance and mitigation of sanction.

Pre-deposit relief under FEMA penalty challenge: Tribunal discretion upheld, but deposit condition further reduced in the interests of justice.

Monetary threshold and no substantial question of law led to dismissal of the appeal.

Deemed liability under FEMA cannot survive once the firm's contravention is finally set aside; partner's penalty and confiscation fall.

Prima Facie Assessment: Regulatory and expert reports can inform but absence of AAEC bars a DG inquiry.

Bid rigging in public tender bids-common IPs, call records and shared EMD led to s.3(3) breach upheld.

Coal handling charges at port found imposed through mandatory coordination fees; impugned order set aside and remitted.

Use of Crystalline Durability Admixture in heavy infrastructure projects: nationwide market accepted, no dominance or anti-competitive conduct found, appeal dismissed

Abuse of dominance investigation notice requirement clarified: no initial notice if no prima facie case; informant need not be heard.

WhatsApp user data sharing for advertising and other non-essential purposes-clarification allowed requiring express, revocable opt-in/opt-out consent

Anticipatory bail in money laundering cases may be refused where custodial interrogation and asset tracing are necessary.

Provisional attachment requires nexus to proceeds of crime; disputed acquisition date can sustain attachment pending proof.

Section 32A of the Insolvency Code does not retrospectively void a pre-approval provisional attachment order.

Territorial writ jurisdiction depends on dominant facts, not a minor local nexus; forum conveniens may defeat entertainment.

Money-laundering attachment can stand without FIR naming if possession of proceeds of crime is shown and source of funds remains unexplained.

Company settlement cannot extinguish criminal prosecution where serious offences must proceed before the criminal court.

Transitional GST refund rights preserve service tax refunds despite loss of Cenvat credit under the earlier regime.

Service tax on premature invoices rejected where works contract service never materialised and no suppression was proved

Cenvat credit cannot be denied solely because a supplier later becomes untraceable, while time-barred demands fail without suppression.

Extended limitation and excess CENVAT credit fail where books and returns disclose the relevant facts

Taxable value exclusions for reimbursements, separate goods supply and soil unloading defeated the Service Tax demand.

Intermediary service test denied where overseas business support was rendered on a principal-to-principal basis.

Intended use exemption for naphtha survives incidental common-plant use; extended limitation and penalty fail without suppression.

Covid-19 limitation directions extended the filing window, and a central excise appeal filed on 30 May 2022 was within time.

Cenvat credit in job-work arrangements remains admissible when capital goods are received, accounted for, and used in manufacture.

Specific tariff entry prevails over end use, while extended limitation needs deliberate suppression to sustain duty demand.

CENVAT credit on expansion-related services remained admissible, while the demand was time-barred and penalty could not survive.

SVLDRS settlement does not absolve co-noticees where evidence shows active abetment in fraudulent Cenvat credit misuse.

Entry tax exemption for Special Economic Zone imports was upheld for goods used in authorised operations.

Pre-deposit compliance and recovery stay: coercive recovery held in abeyance until the pending application is decided.

Rectification rejection under the Karnataka VAT Act is not appealable where Section 69 deeming fiction applies only after amendment.

Natural justice in mismatch turnover assessments led to remand for fresh adjudication with partial deposit condition.

Efficacious statutory remedy and post-notice hearing generally bar writ interference with tax assessment notices under the VAT regime.

Reasoned stay orders under the Odisha Entry Tax Act are mandatory; refusal without reasons was set aside and remitted.

Agricultural land under legal construction restrictions is not 'urban land' for wealth-tax purposes under Section 2(ea)(v).

Scheme of demerger asset vesting prevents attachment for demerged company's tax; attachment allowed only for resulting company's own liability

Appeals dismissed as not pressed; properties treated as commercial establishments excluded from "assets" under Section 2(ea) Wealth Tax Act

Land loses wealth tax exemption during construction period under Section 2(ea) - exemption only applies after completion

Rental income from land plots cannot be denied based on later verification findings from different assessment year

ITAT recalls ex parte wealth tax orders after representative's death created compelling circumstances under Rule 24

Taxing notification scope and review limits: denatured spirit fell outside the levy, and unexplained delay defeated review.

Due diligence in concurrent audit: failure to promptly report banking irregularities amounted to misconduct, but penalty was reduced to reprimand.

Cheque dishonour offences can be compounded after conviction; withdrawn special leave does not bar recall on genuine settlement.

Arbitrability under a contract exclusion clause remains intact where liability is disputed and the clause covers only admitted claims.

Tariff determination and renewable energy incentives must be read purposively to preserve the scheme's intended generator support.

Independent Director liability under cheque dishonour law requires specific averments of control, responsibility, or proven consent.