News
TED refund on supplies to EOU by DTA unit – DGFT to refund TED paid in cash
07 January 2022
The 3-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India has recently held that the responsibility of refund of Terminal Excise Duty (‘TED’), in case of supplies to an Export Oriented Unit (‘EOU’) unit by a Domestic Tariff Area (‘DTA’) unit, in reference to applicable Foreign Trade Policy (‘FTP’), would be that of the authority responsible to implement the FTP under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.
Biological diversity Act sought to be amended – Bill proposed in Lower House of Indian Parliament
04 January 2022
A Bill to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 has been proposed in the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of the Indian Parliament.
Copyrights – Assignee to copyright cannot grant license without being a copyright society
13 December 2021
The Madras High Court has held that assignee of the copyright is not legally permitted to issue or grant license under the Copyright Act, 1957 without being a copyright society under the said Act as contemplated under its Section 33.
Invisible use of trademark as keyword is also prima facie ‘use’ under Section 29 – Google cannot absolve itself from the liability
09 December 2021
The Delhi High Court has held that invisible use of trademark to divert the traffic from proprietors’ website to the advertisers’ / infringers’ website shall prima facie amount to ‘use’ of the mark under Section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, which includes Section 29(6) and 29(8) related to advertising.
Guidelines under Section 194O, 194Q and 206C of Income-Tax Act, 1961
06 December 2021
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a new set of guidelines on 25 November 2021 with respect to the provisions relating to newly inserted Sections on Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS).
Copyrights – Commonality of arrangement of known elements must be demonstrated for infringement
26 November 2021
The Bombay High Court has reiterated that if a copyright is claimed in the arrangement or assembly, it must be shown that that the arrangement has been substantially copied. According to the Court, it will not be helpful to say that known elements have been put together in some form, and that those elements also feature in the other work.
‘Manufactured sand’ covered under ‘sand’ – Common parlance is the best way to classify goods
10 November 2021
Applying the principle of common parlance, the Karnataka High Court has held that ‘sand’ includes ’manufactured sand’ in whatever name it would be called. The High Court was of the view that Notification dated 31 March 2015 was only clarificatory and would not disentitle the assessee to claim the reduced rate of tax at 5/5.5% under Entry 83 of the Third Schedule of the Karnataka Valued Added Tax Act.
Anti-absorption provisions introduced in anti-dumping and countervailing duties Rules
01 November 2021
The Ministry of Finance has introduced the provisions relating to ‘anti-absorption’ in the trade remedy measures being enforced by India. Amendments in this regard have been made in the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Antidumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995.
Right of refund of amount paid during investigation when is independent of process of investigation
27 October 2021
The Karnataka High Court has directed the Revenue department to consider assessee’s refund application in respect of the amount paid during investigation in November 2019. The investigation was not concluded till the hearing before the Court. Considering the facts of the case where it found that the amount was not paid voluntarily, and the assessee was a bona fide taxpayer, the Court observed that consideration of the right of refund would be independent of the process of investigation.
GST Registration – High Courts rule against cancellation of registration
25 October 2021
Two High Courts have recently held against cancellation of GST registrations of the assessees by the Revenue department in certain specific situations. While Orissa High Court has held that the registration of purchasing dealer cannot be cancelled for a fraud committed by the selling dealer, Patna High Court has held that GST registration cannot be cancelled without considering reasons for delay in filing of the periodic GST returns.