Duty-free inputs common to finished goods and capital goods may be used for captive manufacture within a 100% Export Oriented Unit where capital goods are accounted for and bonded. Liability arises if those capital goods are cleared outside the unit, or upon debonding or exit from the scheme. The admitted application of this clarification resolved the dispute over inputs used in such manufacture, resulting in quashing of the seizure memoranda and show-cause notice, refund of deposits, and cancellation of the bank guarantee. Interest on the refund remained open for determination in accordance with law.

Tariff rate quota benefits applied to qualifying imports of crude soybean oil, making refund of excess customs duty admissible. The position followed prior rulings concerning the same product and import period, and Revenue did not contest it. The refusal of refund was set aside, and the refund claim was required to be processed in accordance with law within three months.

SAFTA preferential duty exemption applied to Bangladesh-origin garment imports because verified Certificates of Origin were linked to invoices and Bills of Entry, Bangladesh authorities confirmed their validity, and no evidence established intellectual-property infringement. Customs detention and provisional release conditions were therefore unsustainable, requiring release against the assessed Bills of Entry with preferential treatment. Enhanced assessable value based on an undisclosed market enquiry lacked particulars or documentary support and was set aside. Regulation 6(1) of the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009 required complete waiver of demurrage, detention and allied charges because the goods had been unlawfully detained.

Interest on customs duty refunded because the duty was never payable is compensatory for the period the amount remained with the authorities. Where a refund is sanctioned on that basis, interest accrues from the date of duty deposit and continues until the refund is realised. This treatment applies equally to duty paid during investigation.

Section 27A of the Customs Act requires interest on delayed customs-duty refunds where the refund is not paid within three months of receipt of the refund application. An appellate order allowing refund is deemed an order under section 27(2), but that deeming provision does not defer the commencement of interest. Where a refund application preceded appellate litigation, statutory interest accrues from expiry of three months after the application until the date of refund payment, despite the refund being granted following the litigation.

Status Holder Incentive Scrip customs-duty exemption extends to thermic fluids treated as capital goods where they are initially charged into a manufacturing plant and directly support its operation. The definition of capital goods under the Foreign Trade Policy and the exemption notification covers plant, machinery, equipment and accessories required directly or indirectly for manufacture, including specified goods for initial charge. Thermic fluids supplying high-temperature heat at low pressure for continuous polycondensation form part of the plant because they are essential to polyester manufacture. Classification as chemicals or treatment as inputs under SION does not displace their functional character as capital goods.

First-motion scrutiny of a listed-company amalgamation scheme is generally confined to legality and public interest, leaving shareholders and creditors to assess the commercial proposal. An ante-dated appointed date requires justification, but its assessment must account for the regulatory and stock-exchange approval process applicable to listed entities. Delay in filing cannot be attributed to the company unless exclusively caused by its failure or default; valuation effects and delay may be examined at the second stage with regulatory and tax-authority input. The first-motion dismissal was set aside, and meetings were directed to be convened through appointment of a chairman and scrutinizers.

Fraud-classification action cannot rest solely on a forensic audit report that is inconclusive, based on limited lender-provided material, and qualified because complete records were unavailable. Where the borrower is in CIRP and liquidation, the erstwhile management lacks control and relevant books and records may be seized, reinforcing the report's evidentiary limitations. A show cause notice founded on the same report previously treated as inconclusive in relation to the lead bank remains defective despite the borrower filing a reply. The fraud-classification notice, resulting order, and consequential action were set aside, while fresh action on conclusive evidentiary material remains open.

Statutory ESI contributions, including amounts deducted from employees' wages, are trust funds held by the corporate debtor for statutory beneficiaries and do not beneficially belong to it. Their filing as a Form B claim is procedural and neither changes their trust character nor prevents ESIC from seeking exclusion. These contributions must remain outside the liquidation estate and cannot be distributed through the creditor waterfall as ordinary Government or operational creditor dues. Resolution-plan approval is set aside to the extent it treats qualifying ESI contributions as ordinary dues; the excluded amount must be determined from statutory records.

Liquidators may continue eviction or possession proceedings commenced during CIRP where their purpose is to recover and protect corporate debtor assets. Liquidation does not make such proceedings infructuous because the Liquidator has corresponding powers and duties to take custody and control of liquidation-estate property. Possession disputes concerning estate assets may fall within NCLT insolvency jurisdiction where the claim arises directly from liquidation. Unregistered fixed-term leases cannot prove their terms, particularly where occupants are related parties who have not paid rent. Where rent-control procedures obstruct recovery of liquidation-estate assets, the IBC overriding provision permits recovery and eviction without recourse to the Rent Controller.

FEMA adjudication requires the prescribed two-stage process: the adjudicating authority must form and communicate its opinion to hold an inquiry before granting a personal hearing. Non-compliance invalidated the adjudication order and consequential penalties, requiring fresh adjudication. Alleged FCCB contraventions also require consideration of the earlier RBI circular on eligibility to raise external commercial borrowings, alongside all relevant circulars and material. The matters were remitted for fresh determination after both sides received an opportunity.

ECIR is an internal, non-statutory departmental record that neither initiates prosecution nor independently imposes penal consequences. A first-instance acquittal in a scheduled offence is not final absolution while subject to appeal and does not determine the legitimacy of separately seized assets. The PMLA's specialised adjudicatory and appellate mechanism governs property retention and confiscation; writ jurisdiction should not bypass it where disputed financial facts require evidentiary assessment. Material indicating contravention of another law must be shared with the relevant agency under section 66(2), independently of an acquittal in a distinct predicate proceeding. The writ petition was dismissed, leaving statutory remedies available.

PMLA attachment may extend to Indian property of equivalent value where alleged proceeds of crime remain abroad, including property acquired before the alleged criminal activity or held in a spouse's name if funded by the accused and unsupported by an independent untainted source. Money-laundering is treated as a continuing offence, with timing assessed by reference to laundering acts and attachment; the value-of-proceeds limb independently supports equivalent-value attachment. A provisional attachment order may meet the reasons-to-believe requirement by recording the material, belief and risk of frustrating confiscation, without separate communication. Attachment proceedings do not determine the merits of a pending scheduled offence. Physical possession during pending prosecution is restricted to exceptional circumstances.

Chewing gum is classified as unclassified goods under residuary Entry 87 of Schedule II to the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003, rather than as "sweets and sweetmeats" under Entry 74A. Applying the common-parlance test and the Supreme Court position that chewing gum or bubble gum is chewed and discarded rather than eaten, its sugar content does not make it a sweetmeat. Commodity codes used for e-services and prior departmental treatment cannot override statutory classification. As no specific entry covers chewing gum, the residuary entry applies; the contrary classification also affected the treatment of consequential interest and penalties.

Committee of Creditors, constituted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code for specified functions in the corporate insolvency resolution process, has no separate legal existence or independent capacity to sue, be sued, or seek impleadment. Its collective decisions and communications must be placed before the Adjudicating Authority through the Resolution Professional, who represents it in proceedings. Where a dispute concerns only an individual financial creditor's authority to represent lenders and seeks no relief against or prejudice to the Committee, the Committee is neither a necessary nor a proper party.

Observations concerning directors' status and the filing of financial statements, made while directing appointment of a statutory auditor under the Companies Act, are confined to the limited purpose of enabling preparation of the company's financial statements. They cannot operate to the appellants' detriment in pending or future company proceedings. Any subsequent proceeding must be determined independently in accordance with law, without treating those observations as determinative beyond the auditor-appointment direction.

Cash deposits used for share-trading transactions cannot be added as unexplained money under section 69A merely because supporting affidavits share identical wording, were executed on the same date, or were obtained after the transactions. Sworn confirmations from friends and relatives satisfactorily explained the source where no substantive infirmity undermined their genuineness. The limited cash component of the overall transactions further supported the explanation, requiring deletion of the addition.

An electronically filed first appeal lodged within the prescribed 30-day period cannot be treated as time-barred on an unsupported calculation of delay. For cash deposits during demonetisation, documented prior cash withdrawals may provide a plausible and sufficient explanation of source; deposits so explained do not constitute unexplained money under section 69A. On the stated facts, the limitation objection fails and the cash-deposit addition is unsustainable.

Alleged bogus purchases require an evidence-based estimated disallowance where the taxpayer has not fully established genuineness but the tax authorities cannot disregard available supporting evidence. Rather than disallowing the entire purchase amount, the appropriate adjustment was confined to 15% of the purchases, reflecting both evidentiary deficiencies and evidence supporting the underlying transactions.

Employees' ESIC and provident fund contributions deposited after the due date prescribed under the relevant welfare statutes are not deductible. Sections 36(1)(va), 2(24)(x) and 43B distinguish employees' contributions from employer contributions: delayed employee deposits remain taxable and cannot be allowed merely through the provisions applicable to employer payments. The disallowance of delayed employees' ESIC/PF contributions was therefore sustained, against the assessee and in favour of Revenue.