Job-work clearances returned by an independent job worker to the principal manufacturer for further manufacture cannot use the captive-consumption valuation method, because the goods are not consumed by the job worker or on its behalf. Where the prescribed job-work valuation alternatives do not apply, the residuary method requires reasonable cost-plus valuation consistent with Section 4. Assessable value should comprise material cost, processing or conversion charges, and the job worker's profit. This approach excludes differential duty founded on captive-consumption valuation.

Works contracts involving execution of original works are valued at 40% of the gross amount under Rule 2A(ii)(A), rather than the 70% measure applicable to other works contracts. Recorded service-tax payments, including the provider's reverse-charge share, may satisfy the resulting liability. A service-tax demand cannot rest solely on a mismatch between income-tax and ST-3 returns where timing differences arise from accrual accounting and subsequent TDS reporting; books of account and admissible evidence of consideration must be examined. Extended limitation requires evidence of suppression or another statutory ground, and is unavailable where relevant payments and information were disclosed.

Bona fide purchasers of provisionally attached property may obtain release where registered title was acquired for agreed consideration without disclosure of the pre-existing attachment and an identifiable unpaid sale balance remains available for substituted attachment. Although the attachment pre-dated the sale agreement and public notice had been published, the seller suppressed the attachment during proceedings leading to the court-directed conveyance. The property is released to the purchaser, while the Enforcement Directorate may seek attachment of the sale consideration retained by the court-appointed receiver as substituted property.

Regular bail under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act may be justified where prolonged pre-trial detention, a voluminous charge-sheet, numerous witnesses, and the resulting unlikelihood of an early trial conclusion engage the constitutional right to speedy trial. Parity with a co-accused already released on bail may also support relief notwithstanding the statutory twin conditions. Risks of absconding, reoffending, travel, or witness interference may be addressed through stringent conditions, including passport deposit, periodic reporting, travel restrictions, and limits on contact with witnesses.

Security interest under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code must arise from a consensual agreement or arrangement, rather than solely from a statutory charge. The 2026 Explanation to the definition of security interest is clarificatory and retrospectively applicable. A lease clause granting priority over unearned increase only upon mortgage sale or foreclosure does not create a present general charge over lease premium, rent, or arrears. Statutory recovery of arrears as land revenue is a recovery mechanism, not a consensual charge; the resulting claims remain unsecured statutory or operational dues.

Continuing guarantee obligations are not extinguished by an arbitral repayment arrangement unless novation, a substituted contract, or an express release is established; such an arrangement does not make the guarantor a co-borrower. A creditor retains standing to invoke a guarantee where no assignment of its independent debt share or full satisfaction is shown. Third-party assumption of liabilities, payments, restructuring by other lenders, or security realisation do not discharge the guarantor absent binding substitution, creditor-led variation without consent, or contractual release. A personal insolvency application filed within three years of default is timely. Disputes over guarantee caps or debt computation do not prevent admission where debt and default are established, subject to crediting recoveries to avoid double recovery.

Resolution-applicant eligibility under the insolvency framework is not defeated merely by pending proceedings or attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act; the statutory bar turns on the specified conviction. Disclosure requirements must be read consistently with statutory ineligibility, and an informed Committee of Creditors that considers the proceedings, eligibility and plan feasibility may approve the plan without material irregularity. Review of that approval is limited to statutory non-compliance and does not permit substitution of commercial judgment on viability, valuation or funding. A disputed secured-creditor claim may be protected through a plan mechanism adjusting distributions if secured status is subsequently recognised.

Effective delivery of a demand notice to the corporate debtor's registered office by private courier, supported by tracking details, constitutes substantial compliance with the notice requirement. For foreign-currency claims, conversion at the exchange rate prevailing on the demand-notice date may establish that admitted unpaid advances exceed the statutory threshold. Damages correspondence relating to a separate consignment does not create a genuine pre-existing dispute over admitted advances where the debtor acknowledged receipt, undertook repayment, and neither supplied goods nor refunded the money. Claimed solvency does not itself defeat a Section 9 application where operational debt, default, valid notice, and absence of a genuine dispute are established. Full payment before admission can prevent commencement of the insolvency process.

Procedural fairness in insolvency proceedings ordinarily requires that a corporate debtor receive an opportunity to contest the application on merits unless restoration would cause grave prejudice. Where the lapse is limited to failure to file a reply with an interim-moratorium response, a final time-bound opportunity, advance service, a rejoinder opportunity and costs can protect fairness while preserving expeditious disposal.

Pending final disposal of the injunction petition, the direction for investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office was stayed. Questions concerning entitlement to sue in relation to the provident fund trust and alleged defalcation require determination by the Trial Judge; deciding them while affidavits are required for interim relief could prejudice defendants. The ex parte ad interim injunction was continued only until 31 December 2026, with all merits issues reserved for the injunction petition.

Exclusion of a substantial shareholder from management and established economic participation in a quasi-partnership company may constitute oppression where it occurs without due process or justification. Vacation of a director's office for non-attendance requires proof that board-meeting notices were served; continued recognition as a director and the absence of evidence of data misuse or employee solicitation may negate allegations of wrongful competing conduct. Where pre-emption rights have substantially been invoked but a buyout remains incomplete, and shareholder groups seek mutual exit amid irreconcilable differences, a supervised inter se Swiss Challenge process may provide a fair and transparent share-purchase remedy under Section 242.

Evidentiary support for alleged gold and cigarette smuggling was examined through relied-on statements, including purportedly retracted statements, and alleged electronic communications. Documentary proof of the retractions and their delivery to the customs authority was sought, together with the referenced WhatsApp messages and emails. Information on the arrest and prosecution status of a relevant person was also sought. Further submissions and documents were permitted within two weeks, after which the order was reserved.

Indian refractory mortar comprising chromite, magnesite and bentonite is classifiable under CTH 3816 0000, rather than CTH 2610 for chromium ores and concentrates. Applying Rule 1 of the General Rules for Interpretation, Chapter Note 2 to Chapter 26 and the HSN Explanatory Notes, the mixture has a chemical composition distinct from chromite, serves refractory applications and is neither processed for nor used in chromium metallurgical extraction. It therefore falls outside Chapter 26; export duty and penalty do not apply.

Penalty under Section 112(i) of the Customs Act may be imposed for abetment of smuggling where witness statements, tested through cross-examination, are independently corroborated by documentary and financial evidence. Statements recorded under Section 108 are admissible, and cross-examination satisfies natural justice where witnesses maintain their accounts. Evidence of control over the importing entity, bank account, customs clearance, transportation, advances and container movement established participation in smuggling concealed gold and cigarettes. Liability to penalty was sustained, but the penalty imposed on each individual was reduced as excessive in the overall circumstances.

Vitamin and enzyme premixes combined with carriers, fillers, stabilisers and other additives for exclusive animal-feed use fall under Customs Tariff Heading 2309 as preparations of a kind used in animal feeding. Classification depends on the composite goods' character and intended use, read with the Harmonized System Explanatory Notes. The specific tariff headings for vitamins and enzymes do not apply where the products are formulated as animal-feed premixes rather than presented as those substances in their own right.

Shipping-bill amendment applications under Sections 149 and 154 of the Customs Act require consideration when pending objections on maintainability and limitation have not been adjudicated. An amendment request pending since 26 June 2023 was required to be considered in accordance with law within four weeks, ensuring that unresolved threshold objections are addressed through the statutory decision-making process.

Binding coordinate-bench precedent had settled the Customs Tariff classification of nuts, bolts, washers, hand tools and allied scaffolding items, including by quashing materially identical show cause notices. As the settled position had attained finality and its applicability was undisputed, judicial discipline required consistent treatment. The show cause notice alleging misclassification contrary to those binding rulings was therefore unsustainable and stood quashed and set aside.

Advance Authorisation imports of natural rubber are exempt from the port restrictions imposed by Notification No. 32/2015-2020 under Notification No. 11/2015-2020. Following in-principle approval to exit the EOU Scheme, the importer obtained an Advance Authorisation under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, enabling imports through Hazira Port. These subsequent approvals were relied on as rendering the challenge to the port-restriction notification unnecessary. The notification's validity had previously been upheld in separate proceedings.

Disallowance under section 40(a)(i) for payments to foreign related entities requires verification of the payments' nature, underlying arrangements, reimbursement and invoicing model, treaty taxability, and whether withholding tax under section 195 applies; absent this examination, fresh adjudication is required. For a debt-free assessee, a separate transfer-pricing adjustment for notional interest on overdue receivables from associated enterprises is unwarranted under the applicable Tribunal precedent and should be deleted. The withholding-tax issue remains subject to factual and legal determination, while the notional-interest adjustment is eliminated.

Transfer-pricing adjustment for notional interest on delayed realisation of receivables from an associated enterprise is unsustainable where the taxpayer is debt-free. A balance-sheet and financial-account review showing no internal or external borrowings establishes that overdue receivables create no incremental financing or working-capital burden. Application of the debt-free-entity principle therefore precludes imputing notional interest, resulting in deletion of the adjustment.