Section 80 of the Customs Act is the specific mechanism for detention and return or re-export of dutiable or prohibited articles in passenger baggage, available only where the passenger makes a true declaration under Section 77. Section 125 provides a general, discretionary power to allow redemption of confiscated prohibited goods on payment of fine, but does not independently permit re-export or override Section 80. Applying the principle that a special provision prevails over a general provision, undeclared gold intercepted after the passenger crossed the Green Channel could not be re-exported through redemption where no Section 80 detention was sought. Revisional correction of such legally impermissible discretion was within statutory power.

A CESTAT decision states that an importer's letter foregoing SAFTA preferential duty, given while goods were detained and demurrage accrued, was not a voluntary relinquishment under section 28DA(4) and did not bar challenge to reassessment. It further states that a valid, undisputed Bangladesh certificate of origin established entitlement to concessional duty where the prescribed SAFTA verification procedure was not invoked. As no physical mismatch, misdeclaration or fraud was found, the decision records that the differential duty demand, confiscation, redemption fine and penalty were set aside with consequential relief.

Social Welfare Surcharge on imports cleared against MEIS/SEIS duty credit scrips is discussed where Basic Customs Duty is exempt under the relevant customs notifications. The note explains that the surcharge is calculated on the aggregate customs duties payable, rather than on a notional Basic Customs Duty. Accordingly, where the exemption reduces aggregate customs duty payable to nil, no Social Welfare Surcharge arises. It records that this approach was applied to imports of Synthesis Menthol and resulted in the challenged demands being set aside with consequential relief.

For customs valuation, the amended transaction-value regime requires acceptance of the price actually paid or payable in the particular import transaction where buyer and seller are unrelated and price is the sole consideration. Where the original consignee defaulted without payment, bill of entry, title, or delivery, its initial contract did not establish the relevant sale value. The subsequent importer's renegotiated price paid to the overseas supplier was treated as transaction value because no relationship, additional consideration, or excess payment was alleged. Earlier deemed-value rulings under the pre-amendment regime were inapplicable. The majority view sustained the declared value and dismissed Revenue's appeal.

Related-party customs valuation is addressed through rejection of the declared transaction value where undisclosed funding discounts and dual invoicing created reasonable doubt. The notes state that value should then be redetermined sequentially using deductive-value principles, flexibly applied through residual valuation, with the local list price treated as deemed resale price where contemporaneous sales data is unavailable. Only normal, known and uniformly available discounts may be deducted; warranty costs are not post-import expenses, while customs duty, brokerage and fees are deductible. International freight and insurance cannot be added again. CLCP cannot replace declared MRP for additional-duty assessment. The discussion also confi.....

Moratorium breaches involving sale of mortgaged property and withdrawals from a corporate debtor's funds may warrant restoration to preserve the insolvency estate during CIRP. The notes state that the Adjudicating Authority's residuary jurisdiction extends to consequential directions required to protect and restore estate assets, independently of a finding of fraudulent or wrongful trading. Relief depends on the nature of the restoration sought, and unsupported claims that withdrawals were authorised do not displace the statutory moratorium and management-transfer framework. A direction to restore funds to the corporate debtor's account is described as valid consequential relief. A reference for action under an omitted provision concerning moratorium contravention is stated to be infructuous.

Writ jurisdiction against provisional attachment under the PMLA should be exercised sparingly where an efficacious statutory remedy exists, unless mala fides, patent arbitrariness or manifest lack of jurisdiction is clearly shown. The notes state that FIRs disclosing cheating as a scheduled offence, coupled with statutory reporting to jurisdictional police, can support provisional attachment; a pre-registered criminal case is not indispensable if the prescribed reporting process is followed. Disputes over advertising revenue attributable to users outside India concern quantification of alleged proceeds of crime and disputed facts, and should be addressed through the PMLA adjudicatory mechanism. The writ petition was dismissed, with rights and contentions reserved for statutory proceedings.

Packaged information technology software copied onto a medium and marketed is described as possessing the attributes of goods, making its transfer a deemed sale excluded from taxable service. The text states that inability to meet the conditions of Notification No. 11/2016-ST does not convert such a sale into a taxable service; accordingly, the related service tax demand, interest and penalty were deleted. It separately states that late fee for failure to file prescribed periodic service tax returns after registration remained payable, and the appeal was partly allowed.

Manufacture for central excise requires transformation into a new, distinct and marketable commodity with a separate name, character and use; labour, skill, expense or value addition alone does not suffice. Kitting imported photocopier modules by unpacking and placing them into customer-specific sets was not manufacture where the components remained in original packing, no physical assembly occurred at the warehouse, and relevant fittings had been made abroad. Note 6 to Section XVI could not deem manufacture because the modules were imported and assessed as complete machines, with no subsequent conversion of incomplete goods into complete articles. Rule 2(a) governs classification only and does not determine manufacture. The excise-duty demand was unsustainable.

Compression of natural gas constitutes manufacture under Chapter Note 5 to Chapter 27 only where it is compressed for marketing as compressed natural gas. Compression undertaken solely to facilitate transportation, followed by decompression at customers' premises and sale as natural gas, does not amount to manufacture under section 2(f) of the Central Excise Act, 1944. On that basis, the excise duty demand, interest and penalties on the company, including the penalty imposed on its Chairman-CEO, were set aside.

For dishonour of a cheque drawn on a company account, the company must be arraigned as an accused before vicarious liability can attach to an authorised signatory or other persons responsible for its business. Omission of the company is a foundational defect that prevents valid cognizance under the Negotiable Instruments Act. Section 319 CrPC cannot be used to cure that defect by subsequently impleading the company after the statutory limitation period; any fresh complaint remains subject to limitation and delayed cognizance requires sufficient cause. The Supreme Court quashed the complaint and consequential proceedings, and held that the direction to suo motu arraign the company exceeded jurisdiction.

A single FIR may cover multiple allegations of cheating arising from one criminal conspiracy where the information concerns the same cognizable offence, occurrence or connected transaction; later complaints may be treated as witness statements during investigation. Whether offences form the same transaction depends on unity of purpose and design, proximity of time and place, and continuity of action, and these considerations are not cumulative. The Magistrate must assess the investigation material to decide whether connected cheating allegations warrant joint charges and trial or require separate trials. Complainants treated as witnesses may file protest petitions against closure reports or proposed discharge.

Competition approval was granted for related share acquisitions and the merger of AAPC India, Caddie, Triguna, Srilanand Mansions, Techpark and Accent into InterGlobe Hotels. The combination involves entities jointly controlled by the Bhatia Family Group and the Accor Group, including hotel-owning and developing entities, hotel management and franchising operations, leasing activities, and captive consultancy and support services relating to Accor-branded hotels in India.

Criminal proceedings arising from a loan and contractual transaction may be quashed where the allegations do not prima facie establish the essential ingredients of cheating or forgery. A dispute involving repayment, an agreement to sell and dishonoured cheques remained substantially civil in nature. The retaliatory background, including multiple FIRs filed shortly after cheque-dishonour proceedings initiated by the appellant, indicated mala fide prosecution intended to give criminal colour to a civil dispute. The FIR and consequential charge sheet were therefore liable to be quashed as an abuse of process.

Diesel captive generating sets imported with their auxiliaries are exempt from entry tax from 1 October 2004 under the exemption notification issued under Section 11-A. The exemption specifically covers entry of diesel captive generation sets, so their treatment as taxable machinery in an advance ruling conflicts with the governing exemption and notified legislative policy. Entry tax is therefore not payable on such generating sets and auxiliaries within the notification's scope.

Brokerage commission paid on sale of a residential house is deductible in computing capital gains where the recipient is identified, payment is through banking channels, receipt is confirmed, and the rate is commercially consistent. Indexed construction cost may be allowed despite unavailable bills where building records and a contemporaneous registered valuer's report substantiate the expenditure. Section 54 exemption is available where capital gains are actually utilised to acquire a new residential house within the statutory period and before the extended return-filing date under section 139(4); non-deposit in the Capital Gains Account Scheme does not defeat relief in those circumstances.

Deduction under section 80P(2)(a)(i) extends to income from credit facilities provided to nominal or class C members validly recognised under the Karnataka co-operative law and admitted under the society's bye-laws. Their limited voting, management or profit-sharing rights do not make them non-members, and mutuality does not override statutory membership recognition. Interest and dividend from compulsory reserve, liquidity and refinance deposits, and temporary surplus funds deposited with a district co-operative bank, are attributable to the credit-facility business and qualify for deduction. The contrary position concerning investment-income deduction under section 80P(2)(d) does not apply where the claim is under section 80P(2)(a)(i).

Section 80P permits specified deductions to co-operative societies, including interest derived from investments with other co-operative societies under Section 80P(2)(d). Interest earned by a co-operative society on deposits with a co-operative bank is not covered by that deduction, and interest from deposits with nationalised banks is likewise ineligible. The stated precedent applies to identical facts and legal position, supporting denial of the Section 80P deduction for such interest income.

Dismissal of an appeal on limitation was reconsidered because binding and coordinate-bench decisions required appellate authorities to entertain materially similar delayed appeals on merits. The delay was condoned, the appellate dismissal was set aside, and the appeal was restored for adjudication on merits in favour of the assessee.

The rupee strengthened after the central bank maintained its policy rate and neutral monetary-policy stance. Lower crude oil prices, a weaker US dollar and declining US Treasury yields supported investor sentiment. Earlier measures to attract capital inflows remained part of the framework supporting the rupee, while the central bank stressed its endeavour to preserve an orderly currency trajectory. Future movement was linked to geopolitical de-escalation, global risk sentiment and US economic data.