Appeals challenging fresh assessment orders passed after remand constitute a fresh round of litigation and attract a separate additional court fee under section 76 for the Legal Benefit Fund. The earlier appeal and the subsequent appeal arise from distinct causes of action because the remand results in a new assessment order. Additional court fee paid on the initial appeal cannot be adjusted against the fee payable on the later appeal, particularly where no refund was sought after remand. Any refund of the earlier payment may be pursued independently in accordance with law.

CENVAT credit on fish oil purchased as an input remains available where the manufacturer cleared the goods at a concessional excise duty rate under Notification No. 01/2011-C.E. The notification's condition barring credit on inputs or input services applied only to the manufacturer claiming the concession, not to a subsequent buyer who paid duty on the purchase and used the fish oil to manufacture dutiable final products. A later amendment expressly confirming this limitation was consistent with the original notification's scope. The buyer was consequently eligible for CENVAT credit, and remand for fresh adjudication was unwarranted.

CENVAT credit on inputs procured from units availing area-based exemption was admissible before the amendment to Rule 12 where duty had been suffered, the inputs were used in manufacturing final products, and prescribed invoices or documents supported receipt. The CENVAT Credit Rules required harmonious reading, and the absence of an express pre-amendment prohibition meant that the later express provision could not restrict credit for the earlier period. The disputed input credit was therefore available.

Refund of excess excise duty arising from pre-declared cash and turnover discounts is not barred by unjust enrichment where the discount schemes were disclosed before clearance, though the precise discount quantum was determined later. Cum-duty credit notes passed the agreed discounts to dealers, while provisional assessment permitted adjustment of duty attributable to those discounts. Chartered Accountant and dealer certificates established that the duty incidence was not passed to dealers or buyers and was borne by the assessee. The claimed refund of excess excise duty is therefore available.

Steel tubular transmission poles fall under sub-heading 7306.90 as tubes and pipes rather than sub-heading 7308.90. Binding precedent had settled this classification before the relevant levy period, and the subsequent departmental circular only restated that established position. Duty demanded for July and August 2000 therefore did not constitute an impermissible retrospective levy, because the governing classification was already applicable when the liability arose.

Municipal Council receipts remained below the applicable Small Service Provider exemption thresholds for each disputed financial year. Its gross taxable turnover was therefore outside the service-tax net under the relevant exemption notification. On that basis, no service-tax demand, interest or penalty was sustainable. Questions concerning the taxability of renting of immovable property and advertisement-tax receipts did not require determination once the threshold exemption applied.

Bus operation under a per-kilometre arrangement, where owners provide drivers and cleaners and retain possession, supervision and operational control, is characterised as a contract of hire rather than renting. Rent-a-cab service requires that the vehicle be placed at the recipient's disposal for use according to the recipient's choice. Operation on specified routes without any transfer of possession or control does not meet that essential requirement. Such services are therefore not taxable as rent-a-cab service.

Royalty paid under a mining lease granted by a State Government before 1 April 2016 did not attract service tax merely because payment occurred after Government services became taxable. The relevant mining rights were granted in 2012, before the levy took effect. Applying earlier Tribunal decisions that remained uninterfered with by the Supreme Court, service tax was not payable on royalty paid from April 2016 to June 2017 under that pre-existing lease.

Under the Works Contract Composition Scheme, the option to use the composition procedure is irrevocable for the entire works contract, but it does not lock in the service-tax rate applicable when the option is exercised. Before the Point of Taxation Rules, 2011, tax rates followed the taxable event of service rendition. Thereafter, the rate is determined at the applicable point of taxation, including where the effective tax rate changes under Rule 4. A revised rate therefore applies at the relevant point of taxation during the contract, notwithstanding the continuing composition option.

Service tax paid on telecast fees for obtaining free commercial time qualifies as CENVAT credit where the commercial slots are used to provide taxable sale of space or time for advertisement services. The fees have a direct nexus with advertising revenue generation and fall within the definition of input service under Rule 2(l). Consistent treatment of identical facts in earlier periods supports credit eligibility where no contrary superior-court or Larger Bench ruling exists. Consequently, denial of credit for succeeding periods lacks an independent basis, and related interest and penalties do not survive.

Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019 declarations may require manual processing where records establish payment of the declared differential tax but issuance of the discharge certificate remains pending. Forms SVLDRS-1 and SVLDRS-3, together with bank records, supported undisputed remittance of the amount. The pending discharge-certificate request therefore required manual examination under the applicable CBIC instruction, with processing to be completed within four weeks.

Services connected with membership of a holiday scheme were treated as part of a collective investment scheme after the securities regulator determined the arrangement to be an investment scheme. On that basis, service tax was not payable by members on services availed from the company. The service-tax demand and associated penalties were unsustainable.

PMLA treats assets disproportionate to known income under the scheduled offence of disproportionate assets as proceeds of crime where they are possessed, acquired, concealed, used, or projected as untainted property; a separate bribery allegation is not required. Attachment may be confined to the quantified disproportionate assets after accounting for known income, loans and expenditure, including property linked to a spouse where an independent lawful source is not established. Provisional attachment requires a predicate offence and grounds indicating likely alienation; an unsupported assertion of prior investigating-agency attachment does not invalidate it. Challenges to findings on cash deposits require supporting bank statements or other documentary material.

Section 7 admission requires proof of financial debt and default exceeding the applicable statutory threshold; disputes over exact dues or contractual interest need not be resolved at the admission stage where debt and default are admitted. CIRP is not barred by Section 10A where the default arose before, or continued beyond, the protected period, including where the recorded default falls outside that period. A partial payment or settlement offer does not justify interference with admission when it is substantially below the creditor's claim and has not been accepted. Accordingly, established debt, qualifying default and unmet statutory conditions support commencement of CIRP.

Section 96(4) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code applies to pending insolvency applications against personal guarantors to corporate debtors. Inserted to prevent misuse of the interim moratorium for obstructing creditor recovery, the provision operates prospectively on the continuing status of applications pending on its effective date, with quasi-retroactive effect. The phrase "is filed" includes applications filed before the amendment that remained pending. Vacating pre-admission protection does not impair a vested right; it restores creditors' ability to pursue remedies during the pending insolvency process. Consequently, the interim moratorium ceases from the amendment's effective date and does not bar the suit.

A 42-day delay in filing a company appeal was condoned because the materials on record justified hearing the appeal on merits. The appeal was restored to the High Court for decision in accordance with law.

Advance rulings cannot be issued where an identical classification question has already been decided by a court; accordingly, the request concerning roasted areca nuts was barred under the Customs Act. Roasted walnuts, having undergone high-temperature roasting that alters their flavour, colour and texture for immediate consumption, fall within the specific tariff coverage for dry-roasted or fat-roasted nuts under Heading 2008 rather than Chapter 8 for fresh or dried nuts. Concessional customs duty is available only where the importer strictly establishes compliance with the applicable notification and prescribed country-of-origin requirements to the competent customs officer's satisfaction.

Veterinary active pharmaceutical ingredients with established therapeutic use, including Clopidol (VET) and Amprolium 100% (VET), fall within the inclusive statutory meaning of drugs because it covers animal medicines and substances used as drug components. The specific IGST rate entry for all drugs and medicines is description-based, applies to goods classified under Chapter 30 or other chapters, and is not limited to finished dosage forms. It therefore takes precedence over the general organic-chemical entry for such veterinary APIs. The products qualify for the concessional IGST rate, provided they are not covered by the separate nil-rate entry for specified drugs.

Roasted walnuts fall under Tariff Item 2008 19 91 as other roasted nuts and seeds because roasting is a high-heat process distinct from drying and is not among the processes covered by Chapter 8. Classification follows Rule 1 of the General Rules for Interpretation, the relevant tariff headings and notes, supported by HSN Explanatory Notes and trade understanding. Preferential basic customs-duty treatment under the notified ASEAN-India arrangement is available only where the importer satisfactorily establishes that the goods originate in the relevant notified country under the applicable origin rules and the Customs Rules of Origin framework.

Declared transaction value for imported cigarettes cannot be rejected or enhanced merely on unauthenticated certificates of origin and purported export shipping bills. A valid overseas supply contract supported the declared value, while no evidence established additional payment, misclassification, or higher-priced comparable imports. The certificate was neither used for preferential treatment nor officially verified, and third-party shipping bills were not shown to be authentic or to reflect the true import price. Uncorroborated statements acknowledging those documents were insufficient without admissible supporting evidence. In the absence of reliable contemporaneous import evidence or cogent valuation material, the undervaluation allegation fails.