Telangana High Court Upholds Rejection of Excise Settlement Plea for Lack of Full and True Duty Disclosure

The Telangana High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Airan Comtrax Towers Pvt. Ltd., upholding the rejection of its settlement application on the ground that it failed to make a full and true disclosure of its duty liability. A Division Bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda was dealing with a challenge to the order dated February 28, 2008 passed by the Settlement Commission. The case arose from a show cause notice dated April 4, 2005 alleging clandestine...

Telangana High Court Quashes IT Reassessment On Issue Already Examined, Calls It Change of Opinion

The Telangana High Court has set aside income tax reassessment proceedings against Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute, holding that the tax department cannot reopen an issue it had already examined and accepted during the original assessment. “once the assessment proceedings are completed and assessment order is passed, the 1st respondent cannot reopen the assessment proceedings by issuing the impugned show-cause notice, dt.27.02.2023, alleging that Form 10 had not been...

Telangana High Court Upholds 1% Royalty Cap On Export Sales, Dismisses Gulf Oil Appeals

The Telangana High Court on 26 March, upheld the restriction of royalty on export sales to 1% for Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd., holding that regulatory approvals permitting higher royalty rates do not determine arm's length price under transfer pricing provisions, which operate as a self-contained code under Sections 92 to 92F of the Income Tax Act. The Division Bench comprising Justices P. Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao held that no substantial question of law arose in the matter and...

IBC Auction Purchaser Not Liable For Past Electricity Dues: Telangana HC Sets Aside ₹2.64 Lakh Demand

The Telangana High Court has recently set aside a demand raised against an auction purchaser under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, holding that such a purchaser cannot be made liable for electricity dues of the previous owner where the claim was not part of the insolvency process, and further that a demand raised after nearly 16 years is barred by limitation. Justice Renuka Yara, allowing the writ petition, emphasised that once the resolution process concludes, undisclosed statutory dues...

Income Tax | Reference To District Valuation Officer Cannot Be Used To Initiate Assessment Proceedings: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has dismissed the revenue's appeal against Legend Estates Pvt. Ltd. and held that a reference to the District Valuation Officer under Section 142A of the Income Tax Act is untenable where the taxpayer's books of accounts are neither rejected nor found defective. It also held that a reference under Section 142A can be made only during the course of assessment or reassessment proceedings and not for the purpose of initiating such proceedings. A Division Bench of Justice...

Interest Earned By Co-operative Credit Society On Bank Deposits Eligible For Tax Deduction: Telangana HC

The Telangana High Court has held that interest earned by the Hyderabad-based co-operative credit society on bank deposits made from its business funds is eligible for deduction under the provision applicable to co-operative societies providing credit facilities to their members."It is clear that eligibility for deduction under Section 80P(2)(a) requires that the claim must relate to the profits and gains of business attributable to one or more of the activities specified therein. In the present...

Revenue Cannot Demand Interest On Delayed Duties Yet Deny It On Refund: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court recently held that the Revenue is bound to compensate a taxpayer for amounts wrongfully collected and retained as interest on alleged central excise duty liability arising from a customs notification, even where such amounts were recovered under an amnesty scheme. The court said, “the Revenue cannot act in contradicting ways, i.e., on one hand demanding interest from the assessee for the delay in payment of duties and on other hand refusing to pay interest on the amount...

Telangana HC Upholds ITAT Order Rectifying Contradiction That Allowed Both Taxpayer and Revenue Appeals

The Telangana High Court has upheld an Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order that corrected its own contradictory ruling after it had simultaneously allowed both the assessee's and the Revenue's appeals on the very same issue. Holding that such an outcome was inherently inconsistent, a bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao observed the tribunal was justified in stepping in to resolve the contradiction, especially when it had already decided the issue on...

Telangana HC Restores ₹168 Crore Award, Says Pending Plea No Bar To Consensual Appointment Of Arbitrator

The Telangana High Court has set aside a Commercial Court order that annulled a Rs. 168.36 crore arbitral award against the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and others in a contract dispute with Ramky Elsmex Hyderabad Ring Road Limited. The court held that the consensual appointment of a presiding arbitrator is not rendered invalid only because an application for such appointment was pending before the court.Rejecting the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's contention that...

Telangana High Court Refuses Challenge To Arrest Of Fino Payments Bank CEO In ₹840 Crore GST Case

The Telangana High Court has upheld the arrest of Fino Payments Bank CEO Rishi Nand Kishore Gupta in an alleged ₹840 crore GST evasion case, holding that the 24-hour safeguard under Article 22(2) of the Constitution was not violated and observing that his contention of being in custody prior to arrest did “not merit acceptance.”Dismissing his writ petition, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin held that Gupta was produced before the Magistrate within...

75% Pre-Deposit Under MSMED Act Mandatory For Challenging Arbitral Award: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court on 15 April 2026 held that a buyer cannot circumvent the mandatory 75% pre-deposit requirement under Section 19 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (MSME Act) to challenge an arbitral award. A Division Bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar dismissed a Civil Revision Petition filed by Kendriya Bhandar, which sought exemption from depositing 75% of the awarded amount while challenging an award passed by the Micro...

Suspicion, Human Probabilities Insufficient For Tax Additions Without Evidence: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court on 6 March held that additions under Section 68 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cannot be sustained merely on suspicion or the test of human probabilities and must rest on concrete evidence. A Division Bench of Justices Sam Koshy and Suddala Chalapathi Rao dismissed the Revenue's appeals and upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)'s decision to remand the issue of Rs. 182 crore share premium received by Bharathi Cement Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for fresh examination. It...