Availability of a civil remedy for a contractual dispute does not bar criminal-law recourse where allegations disclose theft or criminal misappropriation. Specific allegations of unauthorised scrap removal, unaccounted sale proceeds, and non-cooperation in providing accounts may warrant FIR registration and investigation where document verification and questioning are needed to establish the facts.

VAT classification of chewing gum turns on its common commercial understanding rather than its sugar content, food-standard specifications, tariff classification, or departmental commodity coding. Chewing gum or bubble gum is chewed as a mouth freshener and discarded; it is not consumed as an eatable sweetmeat and contains gum base and other ingredients in addition to sugar. Its treatment differs from toffee or chocolate, whose classification as sweetmeats does not determine the position of chewing gum. Chewing gum therefore falls under the residuary entry for unclassified goods rather than the entry for sweets and sweetmeats.

Trading became an exempted service under the CENVAT Credit Rules only from 1 April 2011. For the preceding period, the Rule 6 credit-reversal mechanism did not apply to common input services used for trading. From that date, proportionate common-input-service credit attributable to trading must be calculated using the prescribed trading value: trade margin, being the difference between sale price and cost of goods sold, or 10% of cost of goods sold, whichever is higher, rather than gross trading turnover. Where the calculated proportionate credit has been reversed, failure to intimate the Rule 6(3A) option does not justify a further demand, interest or penalties.

Free-of-cost materials supplied by a service recipient are not includible in the gross value charged for taxable services unless legislation specifically requires their inclusion. Service tax is levied on the taxable service, and valuation cannot be enlarged by adding recipient-supplied materials. Accordingly, the recipient's free supplies cannot justify denial of the 67% abatement otherwise available under the applicable service-tax valuation framework.

Scaffolding does not qualify as capital goods for CENVAT credit because it is neither covered as tubes, pipes or fittings nor included in any other prescribed capital-goods category under the CENVAT Credit Rules. Credit claimed on scaffolding is therefore inadmissible. Alleged excess CENVAT credit arising from carry-forward balances in ST-3 returns requires verification against revised return workings, audited accounts, CENVAT records and cash-payment challans. The excess-credit issue requires fresh adjudication, while the scaffolding-credit disallowance remains undisturbed.

Extended limitation for service-tax demands could not be invoked against a municipal corporation constituted under Article 243W and performing statutory functions where fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement, suppression of facts, and intent to evade tax were not established. Invocation of the extended period requires these essential elements and cannot rest merely on a delayed demand. The service-tax demand was consequently time-barred, and the associated penalties were unsustainable.

Extended limitation for service-tax recovery requires fraud, collusion, wilful misstatement or suppression with intent to evade tax; disclosure in income-tax records and a bona fide exemption claim do not establish that intent. Construction of public roads for general use is exempt, including qualifying subcontractor services. Service tax cannot be recovered twice on identical receipts for the same period through separate departmental proceedings. Deliberate suppression or wilful contravention is necessary for the penalty for tax evasion, whereas failure to obtain registration and file returns remains a strict-liability procedural default. Limitation, exemption and duplicate-demand grounds defeated the substantive demand and tax-evasion penalty, while the procedural penalty remained operative.

Principal-to-principal revenue sharing, where restaurant parties jointly operate and one receives a share of the kitchen operator's turnover, does not by itself constitute Business Support Service because no infrastructural support is provided to a service recipient. Similarly, stock and cash incentives tied to alcoholic-beverage sales are sales-linked receipts, not consideration for the sale of advertising space or time or for promotional activity. Neither category of receipt is taxable as Business Support Service or Advertisement Service, and related interest and penalties do not arise.

Reverse-charge service tax on foreign services cannot be sustained merely by applying the default place-of-provision rule where the taxpayer invoked specific place-of-provision rules and Revenue did not establish their inapplicability. Revenue bears the burden of proving taxability, and the extended period is unavailable where returns, audit records, and supporting documents disclose the relevant facts. Demurrage for cargo-loading or discharge delays is a penal charge, liquidated damages, or penal rent rather than consideration for a service, and falls outside the service-tax levy. No service-tax liability survives under the show-cause notice.

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, attachment may extend to Indian property of equivalent value where alleged proceeds of crime are unavailable abroad, including property acquired before the scheduled offence or asserted to derive from legitimate sources, if no independent untainted source is established. Money laundering is treated as continuing through possession, concealment, use or projection of proceeds; therefore, attachment based on an amendment in force when made does not rest solely on retrospective application. Recorded reasons within a provisional attachment order can satisfy the statutory reason-to-believe requirement without separate disclosure. An attachment appeal does not determine the scheduled offence's merits. Attachment preserves property but ordinarily does not displace residential possession absent exceptional circumstances.

Under the PMLA framework, an ECIR is an internal administrative record rather than an FIR and is not a statutory precondition for enquiries into suspected proceeds of crime. A first-instance acquittal in the scheduled offence, while open to appeal, does not amount to final absolution; however, money-laundering action cannot continue after final absolution. Section 66(2) permits sharing independently gathered material concerning violations of other laws. Disputes over the source, character, and retention of seized assets fall within the specialised adjudication and appellate process, and writ jurisdiction should not bypass that fact-finding mechanism or run concurrently with pending statutory proceedings.

Rule 4(3) of the Foreign Exchange Management (Adjudication Proceedings and Appeal) Rules, 2000 requires the Adjudicating Authority to form and record a reasoned opinion on whether an inquiry is warranted after considering the show-cause reply, and to communicate any adverse opinion and reasons before personal hearing. Failure to follow this mandatory preliminary procedure invalidates the adjudication. Borrower eligibility for external commercial borrowings must also be determined after considering all material regulatory circulars, including the applicable earlier circular. Where relevant regulatory material is ignored, eligibility requires fresh determination after both sides receive due opportunity.

Liquidators may continue eviction proceedings initiated by resolution professionals where recovery and protection of corporate-debtor assets is required for liquidation. Property owned by the corporate debtor forms part of the liquidation estate and must be brought under the liquidator's custody and control for preservation and realisation. Unregistered long-term leases cannot establish their terms in evidence, while non-payment of rent and connections with suspended management may support a finding of unauthorised occupation. Recovery of estate assets falls within the Adjudicating Authority's insolvency jurisdiction. Inconsistent rent-control procedures yield to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code where occupation lacks a valid enforceable tenancy.

Adjournment of resolution-plan approval proceedings was unwarranted once the application seeking replacement of the resolution professional had been withdrawn. The resolution-plan approval application, unanimously approved by the Committee of Creditors, was unrelated to the replacement request. Prolonged insolvency proceedings, repeated interlocutory applications, an unsuccessful settlement proposal, and an undertaking to cooperate in expeditious hearings further supported refusal of a further adjournment. The refusal and associated costs remained effective, while adverse remarks against counsel were not to operate to counsel's prejudice.

ESI contributions falling within section 40(4) of the Employees' State Insurance Act, including employee amounts retained for statutory benefits, constitute trust assets and third-party property. Section 36(4)(a)(i) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code excludes those assets from a corporate debtor's liquidation estate. Their filing through Form B does not change their substantive character or prevent reliance on that exclusion. The absence of an express ESI reference in section 36(4)(a)(iii) does not limit the separate trust-asset exclusion. Qualifying contributions must be identified from statutory records and the relevant contribution period, rather than distributed under the section 53 waterfall.

Fraud-classification action based on an inconclusive forensic audit cannot be sustained merely because the borrower responds to the show-cause notice. Where the audit relies on limited lender-supplied material, is expressly qualified pending production of complete records, and has already proved unreliable for equivalent action, it lacks a sufficient evidentiary foundation. This applies particularly where records are unavailable following insolvency and liquidation and the bank has not sought them from the liquidator or investigating authority. The notice and consequential fraud-reporting measures were set aside, without preventing fresh action supported by conclusive evidence.

Merger schemes under sections 230 and 232 follow a two-stage process in which shareholder and creditor consideration precedes fuller scrutiny of delay, valuation and related concerns. A first-motion application should not be rejected merely because the appointed date predates filing by more than one year, filing is allegedly delayed, or preliminary document concerns arise. Listed companies must obtain stock-exchange observations based on SEBI observations before approaching the Tribunal, and time taken for that mandatory process is not attributable to applicants acting promptly thereafter. General Circular No. 09/2019 requires justification and public-interest consistency for significantly ante-dated appointed dates, rather than mechanical rejection. Stakeholder meetings should proceed, with detailed assessment at the second stage.

Private complaints concerning offences under section 447 raise questions about the bar on Special Court cognizance, the scope of Special Court jurisdiction over Companies Act and related offences, and allegations of abuse of process. The second proviso to section 212(6) permits the Union of India to authorise, through a written general or special order, a Central Government officer to institute a complaint in addition to the Director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.

Thermic fluids initially charged into a Continuous Polycondensation plant qualify as capital goods for customs-duty exemption where they are functionally integrated with and indispensable to manufacturing operations. The Foreign Trade Policy capital-goods definition covers plant, machinery, equipment, accessories and specified articles required for initial charge, including items required directly or indirectly for manufacture. Continuous closed-loop circulation of the fluids supplies precise high-temperature heat while maintaining low pressure, supporting their capital-goods character. Classification as chemical inputs under Standard Input Output Norms does not displace that character.

Interest on customs duty deposited during an investigation applies where final determination establishes that no duty was payable. Because retention of money not lawfully collectible deprives the depositor of its use, compensation is calculated from the date of payment or deposit rather than only from the date a refund application is made. The refunded amount therefore carries interest until actual realisation.