Advocate-client privilege does not bar GST searches, but safeguards must protect unrelated client communications and relevant cloned data.

Time-Barred Refund Claims Must Be Processed When Binding Precedent Applies to Airport Duty-Free Outlet Taxes.

Identity of liability governs parallel GST proceedings; common supplier and period alone do not trigger the statutory bar.

Statutory appellate remedy governs Order-in-Original challenges, while jurisdictional objections and factual merits remain for appellate determination.

GST writ jurisdiction yields to statutory appeals absent patent jurisdictional error, leaving factual and limitation issues for appellate review.

GST reimbursement for post-GST contracts must be assessed under the applicable notification provision, not provisions confined to pre-GST contracts.

Delayed audit-report filing cannot defeat charitable exemption when the prescribed form is furnished during appellate proceedings and delay is condonable.

Employee stock option expenditure and pre-amendment share valuations remain allowable where later Merchant Banker certification requirements did not apply.

Specific condonation scheme for Section 80P claims overrides general guidance, supporting relief where audit delays caused genuine hardship.

Reassessment notice validity returns for fresh consideration after statutory amendment prompts recall and preserves interim protection.

Amended reassessment provisions permit renewed challenges after prior disposal, with temporary protection continuing while fresh proceedings are initiated.

Recall of writ proceedings permits a fresh statutory challenge while existing protection continues for a limited period.

Benami property claims cannot enforce ownership or possession through post-commencement suits, even where the underlying sale predates the prohibition.

Benami confiscation takes precedence over a subsequent secured mortgage, leaving lenders to pursue alternate collateral and statutory claims.

Prior approval for benami property attachment requires statutory notice and recorded reasons before the approval process begins.

Benami property attachment sustained where alleged loan consideration lacked credible proof, traceable lenders, and explained funding sources.

Benami property exceptions protect a father's purchase in minor children's names from statutory bar and plaint rejection.

Benami transaction definition requires owner's lack of knowledge; acknowledged share allotment and buy-back consideration defeated the statutory claim.

Prospective notification amendments cannot bar consideration of provisional release for imports covered by earlier bills of lading.

Advance Authorisation exemption permits natural-rubber imports despite port restrictions after approval to exit the EOU Scheme.

Binding tariff-classification precedent requires quashing show-cause notices that repeat allegations already settled by coordinate-bench rulings.

Shipping-bill amendment applications require timely statutory consideration where maintainability and limitation objections remain undecided by customs authorities.

Animal-feed preparation classification places vitamin and enzyme premixes within the dedicated feed-preparation tariff heading where exclusively formulated.

Customs-smuggling abetment penalties remain sustainable when corroborated statements establish control and participation, though excessive penalties may be reduced.

Section 230 compromise period may be extended where changed creditor circumstances support value maximisation and corporate revival.

Partnership dissolution requires liquidation or market-value settlement, preserving an outgoing partner's asset share beyond dissolution-date valuation.

Quasi-partnership shareholder exclusion can justify supervised Swiss Challenge bidding to secure a fair share-purchase exit after confidence irretrievably fails.

Territorial jurisdiction arises when a company's registered office forms the investigative fulcrum, permitting a writ challenge.

Binding Judicial Directions Remain Enforceable Despite Pending Review, Requiring Immediate Implementation of Vacant Possession Orders.

Limitation for dividend-transfer offences barred delayed prosecution, while prolonged inactivity made continued criminal proceedings unwarranted.

Annulled securities trades require exchange refund of deposited consideration, without forcing delivery or broker arbitration.

Main objects clause limits virtual digital asset investments, rendering pre-amendment preferential issue deployment ultra vires and void.

Buyback escrow release does not immunise issuers from independently proven fraud proceedings under market-abuse rules.

Disgorgement and co-location access issues remain legally open after settlement-based disposal of securities market appeals.

Summons before arrest warrants: transferred complaints require accused already on bail to receive an initial opportunity to appear.

Leave against acquittal requires arguable grounds for deeper scrutiny, while certified-copy time is excluded from limitation.

Interim injunction restraint preserves disputed trust entitlement and alleged defalcation issues for final adjudication without prejudice.

Procedural fairness in insolvency proceedings supports a final, cost-backed opportunity to file a reply where delay causes no grave prejudice.

Demand-notice service by tracked private courier supports Section 9 admission where admitted advances exceed threshold and no genuine dispute exists.

Resolution applicant eligibility survives pending money-laundering proceedings, while creditors' commercial judgment limits review of an approved insolvency plan.

Continuing guarantees survive revised repayment arrangements, enabling personal insolvency proceedings despite quantum disputes and third-party payment arrangements.

Security Interest Requires Consent: lease clauses and statutory recovery mechanisms do not confer secured-creditor status for lease arrears.

Director liability for unrealised export proceeds survives company liquidation when reasonable recovery steps remain unproven.

Continuing foreign-asset holdings permit prospective seizure of equivalent domestic assets where statutory suspicion and Indian residence are established.

Proportionate penalty under foreign exchange law requires reasoned discretion; an unexplained unchanged quantum was reduced.

Civil FEMA liability for non-compliant foreign investment does not require mens rea and may support property confiscation.

Equivalent-value property seizure under FEMA may proceed on prima facie evidence of unauthorised overseas fund transfers.

Proof of actual software receipt is required for foreign-exchange remittances; authorised company officers remain liable without due diligence.

Exclusive supply and customer incentive arrangements require evidence of actual foreclosure, denied access, or competitive harm before infringing competition law.

Natural justice in competition proceedings requires notice before departing from the investigation report's findings.

Merger control disclosure and finality: composite transactions need full notice, but approved combinations cannot be reopened without statutory power.

Prima facie antitrust screening requires concrete evidence; regulated pricing and disclosed tender preferences did not establish abuse of dominance.

Tacit cartel participation and partner liability upheld where repeated coordination emails, not dissociation, proved competition law breach.

Prima facie abuse of dominance requires material showing likely competitive harm; co-location allegations did not justify investigation.

Prolonged pre-trial detention under PMLA supports regular bail where trial is unlikely to conclude promptly.

Bona fide purchase permits release of attached property when identifiable sale proceeds remain available for substituted attachment.

Humanitarian parole for critically ill spouses may be warranted despite other family caregivers being available.

Corresponding scheduled offences under anti-money-laundering law preserve enforcement jurisdiction for equivalent corruption offences under the J&K statute.

Money-laundering charges focus on criminal proceeds, statutory statements, prosecution sanction, and proof of a financial link.

Prima facie material for money laundering defeats discharge where records and statements indicate knowing transfer of criminal proceeds.

Original works valuation and evidence-based service tax demands limit differential tax and penalty exposure in works contracts.

Composite residential construction contracts before works-contract taxation were outside service tax where goods and services could not be segregated.

Revenue neutrality defeats reverse-charge service-tax demands when the same tax is fully available as CENVAT credit.

Mandatory verification under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme requires reconsideration of conflicting payable amounts based on complete documentary evidence.

Service-tax treatment of trading and hostel rentals excludes sales and residential-dwelling rent from taxable services.

Service tax reconciliation requires verification of corrected challans and customer advances before fresh adjudication of receipt-reporting differences.

Job-work valuation excludes captive-consumption method where an independent processor returns goods to the principal for further manufacture.

CENVAT credit on concessional CVD remains available for imported coal because customs-notification rates retain excise-duty equivalence.

Admissibility of investigation statements and electronic records determines whether alleged clandestine excise clearances can support duty demands.

Cenvat credit rules exclude bagasse-based electricity demands where bagasse is agricultural residue and proportionate credit reversal is made.

Revenue-neutral inter-unit excise transfers defeat differential duty demands and bar extended limitation where valuation details are disclosed.

Amortised tooling value governs excise valuation, while separately sold tooling does not receive captive consumption exemption.

Rubber classification includes synthetic SBR Latex, placing it under the specified VAT entry rather than the residuary category.

Form-F declarations: final determinations for subsequent years preclude revision of an assessment accepting declarations under Central Sales Tax law.

Statutory interest on assessed VAT refunds applies where payment remains unpaid despite a refund determination.

Inter-State sales turn on contractual linkage to goods movement, while branch transfers require proof under the CST Act.

Composition-scheme eligibility survives belated revised returns when finally determined taxable turnover remains below the prescribed threshold.

Commodity classification requires distinct tariff treatment where Furnace Oil and Light Diesel Oil differ materially in identity and use.

Specialised agricultural-land valuation qualifications remain valid, and civil-engineering credentials cannot replace separate eligibility requirements for registration.

Territorial appellate jurisdiction invalidates orders by an unauthorised authority, requiring de novo merits adjudication before the competent appellate forum.

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

Territorial appellate jurisdiction invalidates orders issued by an appellate authority not assigned the assessee's regional charge.

Debts Recovery Tribunal remedy remains available where a diligent writ challenge was redirected despite ordinary limitation expiry.

SEZ Fiscal Exemption Extends to Pre-Ordinance Lease Deeds Under an Existing State Investment Policy

GST reimbursement for pre-GST contracts survives tax-inclusive tender clauses where later tax burdens are verified and comparable contractors receive relief.

Cheque validity after bank merger prevents Section 138 liability when legacy instruments are presented after their prescribed deadline.

Fair vehicle repossession requires prior notice, cure opportunity, peaceful recovery, and transparent sale; forceful seizure can trigger restitution.

GST reimbursement disputes remain arbitrable where they concern contractual allocation rather than sovereign tax liability.