Section 18 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 requires the Facilitation Council to conduct mediation on a reference and, if mediation fails, to either arbitrate the dispute itself or refer it to a competent arbitral institution or centre. Dismissing the reference after unsuccessful mediation, without commencing or making an effective arbitral reference, is inconsistent with the statutory dispute-resolution mechanism. The reference must proceed to arbitration or be referred for adjudication on merits.

MSME borrowers seeking revival and rehabilitation protection must raise eligible MSME status and seek a corrective plan or rehabilitation in response to a SARFAESI demand notice. A secured creditor must examine a properly raised claim and may need to keep further enforcement measures in abeyance where the claim warrants acceptance. A belated MSME-protection claim cannot reopen earlier SARFAESI measures or a consequential auction notice when it was not raised in the initial response or prior proceedings. The Henderson Principle, constructive res judicata and Order II Rule 2 prevent later assertion of grounds that could and should have been raised earlier. The statutory remedy before the Debt Recovery Tribunal remains available.

Rebuttal of statutory presumption of legally enforceable debt in cheque dishonour proceedings - Financial capacity to advance alleged cash loan - Adverse inference from non-examination of material witness - Proof of legally enforceable debt for alleged cash loan - Withholding of material eyewitness Conviction for cheque dishonour despite rebuttal of the presumption of legally enforceable debt arising from an alleged cash loan transaction - HELD THAT: - Although admission of signature raised t... ... ...

Repayment of amount released pending appeal upon acquittal - Refund of the amount released to the complainant under Section 148 of the Negotiable Instruments Act following acquittal of the accused in appeal - HELD THAT: - The proviso to Section 148(3) mandatorily requires the complainant to repay the amount released during pendency of the appeal, with the prescribed interest, when the appellant is acquitted. The complainant's undertaking to repay the amount subject to disposal of the appeal ... ... ...

Supersession of board of multi-State co-operative bank - Applicability of Banking Regulation Act to multi-State co-operative banks - Extension of supersession beyond board tenure - Consultation before supersession of co-operative bank board Power of the RBI to supersede the BoD of a multi-State co-operative bank under Section 36AAA(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 - Six-month limit on supersession - Applicability of Banking Regulation Act to multi-State co-operative banks - RBI's po... ... ...

Statutory machinery under Section 47-A of the Stamp Act - Judicial discipline - reference to larger Bench - Undervaluation of instruments under Section 47-A of the Stamp Act Whether the power under Section 47-A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 can be invoked only upon material indicating wilful undervaluation with fraudulent intent to evade stamp duty; and whether the prior decisions imposing that requirement state the correct law? - HELD THAT: - The Court noted that the plain language of Sectio... ... ...

Statutory bar on appeal against order setting aside assessment for fresh assessment - Fresh assessment of transit-sale exemption claim Whether the composite appellate order reopening all assessment issues for fresh consideration constituted an order setting aside the assessment and directing a fresh assessment within the third proviso to Section 58(1)(b) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006? - HELD THAT: - The substance of the appellate order, and not the absence of express words setti... ... ...

Refund of excess penalty in prescribed form - Interest on delayed refund attributable to dealer Prescribed authority for refund of excess penalty - validity of the refund application for excess penalty filed before the Joint Commissioner of State Tax instead of the redesignated Additional Commissioner of State Tax - HELD THAT: - Rule 43(1) designated the Joint Commissioner as the refund authority where the refund exceeded the prescribed threshold. Although the corresponding officer was redesi... ... ...

Extinguishment of statutory tax dues under approved resolution plan - Refund of statutory appellate pre-deposit after extinguishment of tax demand Extinguishment of statutory tax dues under approved resolution plan - Continuation of tax recovery proceedings - Continuation of MVAT recovery proceedings for tax dues pertaining to the period preceding approval of the clean-slate Resolution Plan - HELD THAT: - Approval of a Resolution Plan under Section 31 of the IBC binds all stakeholders, includ... ... ...

Summary order. The Special Leave Petitions were dismissed, with pending applications disposed of.... ... ...

Interest on delayed refund under Section 11BB - Duty paid under protest - Electronic refund application as statutory refund claim Statutory interest on delayed refund - Limitation and laches - Entitlement to statutory interest on delayed refund was not defeated by the assessee's subsequent request for interest, failure to appeal against the refund orders, or alleged delay and laches. - HELD THAT: - Interest under Section 11BB is a self-executing statutory obligation arising automatically wher... ... ...

CENVAT credit on duty paid by a separate legal entity - Separate juristic personality of subsidiary company - Recovery of inadmissible CENVAT credit with interest and penalty CENVAT credit on capital goods imported by a separate legal entity - Separate corporate personality - Entitlement of a cement manufacturer to avail CENVAT credit of CVD paid on capital goods imported and owned by its separately incorporated captive power subsidiary. - HELD THAT: - CENVAT credit is a statutory concession ... ... ...

Mutatis mutandis application of customs-exemption conditions to domestic supplies under International Competitive Bidding - Consequential excise duty, interest and penalty Excise exemption for domestic supplies under International Competitive Bidding - Mutatis mutandis customs-notification conditions - Entitlement to central excise exemption for Alternators supplied to an eligible petroleum exploration project under International Competitive Bidding, despite alleged non-compliance with proced... ... ...

Excess CENVAT credit - reconciliation of opening balance and import-service credit - CENVAT credit on input services used for output services - Inclusion of reimbursable expenses in taxable value - Service-tax demand based on financial statements and ST-3 returns - Penalty for delayed service-tax payment on services to SEZ units - Extended limitation where returns were filed and audits conducted Excess CENVAT credit - reconciliation of opening balance and import-service credit - Excess availm... ... ...

Service tax on construction of residential complexes prior to 01.07.2010 HELD THAT: - Following the settled position adopted in the respondent's earlier case [2025 (6) TMI 1670 - CESTAT BANGALORE] Tribunal held that construction of residential complexes undertaken before 01.07.2010 was not liable to service tax, whether the arrangement was a service simpliciter or a composite works contract. [Paras 6, 7] The orders setting aside the service-tax demand for the relevant period were uphel... ... ...

CENVAT credit on recovery and collection agent services - Extended limitation for ineligible CENVAT credit CENVAT credit on recovery and collection agent services - Input service for lending activity - Eligibility of CENVAT credit of service tax paid on commission to recovery or collection agents engaged by an NBFC for recovery of defaulted instalments and enforcement of hypothecated vehicles - HELD THAT: - Lending is a continuing commercial activity and is not exhausted upon disbursement of ... ... ...

Non-consideration of relevant precedents CENVAT credit on invoices lacking service tax registration number - Non-consideration of relevant precedents - Denial of CENVAT credit solely because the service-provider invoices did not reflect a service tax registration number, without considering earlier Tribunal decisions on such invoices. - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal denied credit on the sole ground of absence of the service tax registration number on certain invoices, but did not consider the ear... ... ...

Pre-existing dispute in operational-debt insolvency proceedings Maintainability of the operational creditor's application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process where the corporate debtor had disputed the underlying transactions before receipt of the demand notice - HELD THAT: - The record of the Information Utility marked the debt as disputed, and the corporate debtor's legal notice and fraud-related complaints preceded the demand notice. The dispute concerned the ... ... ...

Jurisdiction over personal guarantor insolvency during corporate debtor's CIRP - Inter-Bench transfer under Rule 16(d) of the NCLT Rules Personal guarantor insolvency jurisdiction under Section 60(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code - Jurisdiction over a personal guarantor's insolvency application where the corporate debtor's CIRP was pending before another Bench - HELD THAT: - Section 60(2), by its mandatory language and non-obstante clause, overrides the territorial criteri... ... ...

Continuation of writ challenge to forensic audit reports after commencement of corporate insolvency resolution process - Impleadment of suspended directors affected by forensic audit reports - Transposition of corporate debtor in pending writ proceedings HELD THAT: - Upon commencement of CIRP, management of the company vested in the Resolution Professional, who declined to pursue the writ petition. Since the forensic audit reports under challenge also affected the rights of the suspended dire... ... ...