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Arbitration: Navigating the Tax Shift: Resolving Post-VAT GST Disputes in Infrastructure Contracts

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This arbitration appeal under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, arose from a commercial dispute regarding the calculation and payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) for a road-widening project that commenced under the pre-GST (VAT) regime and concluded under the GST regime. The Sole Arbitrator had previously awarded the contractor over INR 11.35 crores inclusive of GST components, price adjustments, interest, and penalties, which the Commercial Court affirmed. The Allahabad High Court partly allowed the appeal, holding that while tax liabilities concerning who pays are arbitrable, the quantum and methodology of tax calculation fall under statutory tax domains. The Court found the arbitrator’s reliance on MoRTH Standard Operating Procedures (meant for EPC contracts) flawed for an item-rate contract and remitted the core tax calculation issues back to the Arbitral Tribunal while severing and upholding minor awards based on consensus.

  • Arbitrability of Tax Disputes:
    • The Court bifurcated tax disputes into two heads: Head-A (private contractual obligations such as inter se tax liability, indemnity, and reimbursement rights, which are arbitrable) and Head-B (statutory tax determinations, classifications, tax rates, and matters encroaching on exclusive taxing authority domains, which are not arbitrable).
    • The dispute regarding which methodology or government order applied to calculate the tax impact post-VAT repeal fell under Head-A and was therefore arbitrable.
  • Flawed Application of MoRTH SOP:
    • The contract between the parties was an item-rate contract, and the incorporation of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) specifications was strictly limited to technical standards for road and bridge building, not tax mechanisms.
    • The Sole Arbitrator committed a patent illegality by applying the MoRTH Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) dated 19.11.2018 (which explicitly governs Engineering, Procurement, and Construction [EPC] contracts) to an item-rate contract without contractual backing or mutual consent.
  • Ignorance of State Government Orders and Statutory Framework:
    • The Arbitrator failed to provide cogent reasons for discarding the State Government Orders dated 09.11.2017 and 10.12.2019, which provided specific formulas for calculating GST on running contracts in Uttar Pradesh.
    • The tribunal also overlooked the transitional provisions under Chapter XX (specifically Sections 142(2), 142(10), and 142(11)) of the U.P. GST Act, 2017, rendering its findings vulnerable.
  • Inconclusive Award and Overreach as Assessing Officer:
    • By making the awarded tax amounts subject to final assessment by GST authorities while simultaneously awarding statutory interest and penalties under Section 50 of the GST Act without establishing foundational default or negligence by the department, the arbitrator acted akin to an Assessing Officer, creating ambiguity and failing to bring finality.
  • Application of Severability and Relief:
    • Relying on the Supreme Court ruling in Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd., the High Court exercised its powers of severability.
    • The judgment of the Commercial Court and the major monetary award regarding issues 2 to 4 and 8 to 9 (totaling over INR 11.35 crores) were set aside.
    • Findings on Issue No. 1 (item-rate consensus) and Issue No. 10 (INR 66,500 for the Dispute Review Expert fee share) were severed, protected, and sustained.
    • The matter regarding issues 2 to 4 and 8 to 9 was remanded back to a newly constituted Arbitral Tribunal for fresh adjudication in accordance with the law.

J.O. (Web) 2026 ALL 26

U.P. Public Works Deptt. through Chief Engineer Central Zone Lko. v. M/s Vriddhi Infratech India Pvt. Ltd. (D.O.J. 21.07.2026)

J.O. (Web) 2026 ALL 26 click here to view full text of judgment

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Supreme Court Judgment Summary 15th Sep, 2026

September 18, 2026 No Comments

Supreme Court Judgment Summary 15th Sep, 2026

A Definitive Review on Disability Pension Rights for Ex-Servicemen

This landmark batch of appeals brought by the Union of India challenged various orders passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) and High Courts, which had granted the disability element of service pensions to ex-servicemen. These former personnel had been assessed by Release Medical Boards (RMB) as having disabilities that were “Neither Attributable Nor Aggravated” (NANA) by military service. The Supreme Court addressed the core tension between the protective, beneficial jurisprudence established in Dharamvir Singh v. Union of India (governed by the Entitlement Rules 1982) and the restrictive framework introduced by the subsequent Entitlement Rules 2008. Crucially, the Court undertook a deep constitutional and administrative review of the legitimacy of the 2008 rules, evaluating whether they possessed binding legal force and whether they could dilute established beneficial entitlements.

2026 INSC 993 : Union of India & Ors. v. Col. NC Isaac (Retd.) and Connected Appeals (D.O.J. 15.09.2026)

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Setting Aside Ineligible Selection to Protect Merit

September 18, 2026 No Comments

The Supreme Court of India dismissed the civil appeal filed by Sunita Lahu Panchpande, upholding the Bombay High Court’s judgment that had set aside her appointment as an Anganwadi Supervisor in Nashik District. The appellant, who originally served as an Anganwadi Sevika in Jalgaon District, applied for and was appointed to the post in Nashik despite an express restriction in the advertisement and the governing Government Resolution (G.R.) dated November 17, 2001, mandating that applicants must possess ten years of work experience specifically within Nashik District. Although the Divisional Commissioner had erroneously issued a clarification stating that experience from other districts was acceptable, the Supreme Court ruled that a subordinate administrative official cannot issue clarifications contrary to statutory G.R.s and recruitment advertisements. Citing the doctrine that appointments made in disregard of advertised qualifications amount to a fraud on the public, the Supreme Court affirmed the High Court’s order directing the appointment of the eligible wait-listed candidate (the sixth respondent) in her place, while acknowledging the compassionate observation permitting the appellant’s accommodation in her home district.

  • Core Issues Addressed: The Supreme Court evaluated whether a candidate lacking the mandatory territorial work experience stipulated in a recruitment advertisement and government resolution can retain public employment based on an erroneous administrative clarification.
  • Mandatory Territorial Eligibility: A conjoint reading of the 2001 Government Resolution and the specific conditions of the advertisement clearly established that applicants must have accumulated their ten years of qualifying experience as an Anganwadi Sevika within the same district (Nashik).
  • Incompetence of Administrative Clarifications: The Divisional Commissioner lacked the legal authority to issue a clarification that ran completely contrary to the explicit text of the 2001 G.R.; any genuine doubt ought to have been referred back to the State Government.
  • Fraud on Public Aspirants: Reaffirming the principle laid down in Tripura Sundari Devi, the Court emphasized that appointing ineligible candidates in violation of advertised terms without an express relaxation clause constitutes a fraud on public candidates who possessed better qualifications but refrained from applying.
  • Final Outcome: The appeal was dismissed, the High Court’s judgment was upheld, the sixth respondent was awarded the rightful appointment with benefits to be disbursed within two months, and the appellant was granted time until September 30, 2026, to transition out of the post.

2026 INSC 1002

Sunita Lahu Panchpande v. The District Collector & Ors. (D.O.J. 16.09.2026)

2026 INSC 1002 click here to view full text of judgment

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Acquittal Under NDPS Act Due to Flawed Sampling and Unproven Contraband

September 18, 2026 No Comments

The Supreme Court of India allowed the criminal appeals filed by the appellants Abdul Rajik and Govind, setting aside the concurrent judgments of the Trial Court and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh which had convicted them under Section 8 read with Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The appellants had been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and 8 years respectively, following allegations that they were caught carrying charas. The Supreme Court held that the prosecution fundamentally failed to establish an unbroken chain of custody for the seized samples, pointing out severe lapses, including the total non-compliance with Section 52-A of the NDPS Act (drawing samples without a Magistrate), missing entries in the malkhana register regarding the exit of samples, a silent carrier constable, and an unexplained five-day delay before the samples reached the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Consequently, the FSL report became untrustworthy, and with no other reliable scientific proof that the recovered material was actually charas, the Court granted the appellants the benefit of the doubt and acquitted them.

  • Core Issues Addressed: The Supreme Court examined the validity of convictions under the NDPS Act concerning the integrity of link evidence, the absolute necessity of maintaining a secure chain of custody for seized contraband samples, and the legal consequences of failing to comply with Section 52-A of the NDPS Act.
  • Breach in Link Evidence and Custody: The prosecution failed to prove the safe transit of the samples from the malkhana to the FSL. Crucially, the forwarding letter from the Superintendent of Police was dated December 1, 2004, whereas the FSL recorded receipt on December 6, 2004, leaving an unexplained five-day gap with zero evidence as to whose custody the samples remained in during this period.
  • Non-Compliance with Section 52-A: The investigating officer completely omitted the mandatory statutory safeguard of drawing representative samples in the presence of an Executive or Judicial Magistrate, which severely dented the integrity of the seizure and sampling process.
  • Exclusion of the FSL Report: Due to the shattered chain of custody and procedural flaws, the FSL report (Exhibit P-46) lost its evidentiary value and had to be discarded. Furthermore, the informal spot-testing method (burning a small piece of the substance) was deemed unscientific and insufficient to prove the material was charas.
  • Final Outcome: The appeals were allowed, the judgments of conviction and sentences were set aside, and the appellants were acquitted of all charges with their bail bonds discharged.

2026 INSC 1001

Abdul Rajik v. State of M.P. (D.O.J. 16.09.2026)

2026 INSC 1001 click here to view full text of judgment

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The Finality of Tax Settlements: Barring Reassessment After ITSC Orders

September 18, 2026 No Comments

The Supreme Court of India dismissed the civil appeal filed by the Revenue (Income Tax Department), upholding the judgment of the Delhi High Court which had quashed a reassessment notice and order issued against the respondent-assessee, M/s. Omaxe Limited. The core controversy revolved around whether the Assessing Officer (AO) retained the jurisdiction to reopen a concluded assessment under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to disallow housing project deductions under Section 80IB(10) after the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) had already passed a final settlement order under Section 245D(4). The Supreme Court ruled that Chapter XIX-A of the Income Tax Act is a self-contained code. Once an application for settlement is admitted and a final order is issued, it attains absolute finality under Section 245-I, and the regular assessment machinery cannot be invoked to bypass this conclusiveness. The Court clarified that if the Revenue wishes to challenge a settlement order on grounds of fraud or misrepresentation, its sole exclusive remedy is to approach the ITSC directly under Section 245D(6)—not to initiate parallel reassessment proceedings.

  • Core Issue Addressed: The Supreme Court examined whether an Assessing Officer can independently issue a reassessment notice under Section 148 to disallow deductions (such as under Section 80IB(10)) that were part of the total income considerations during a concluded proceeding before the Settlement Commission.
  • Exclusive Jurisdiction of the ITSC: The Court reaffirmed that upon the admission of a settlement application, the ITSC assumes exclusive jurisdiction over the case for that assessment year, placing the regular assessment machinery under statutory abeyance pursuant to Section 245F(2).
  • Conclusiveness of Settlement Orders: Under Section 245-I, orders passed by the ITSC under Section 245D(4) are final and conclusive on the matters stated therein, barring the Revenue from splitting an assessment to re-litigate items through standard reassessment channels.
  • Exclusive Remedy for Fraud or Misrepresentation: If the Revenue discovers that a settlement order was obtained through misrepresentation or concealment, Section 245D(6) provides the exclusive statutory pathway to declare the settlement void by moving the ITSC directly, a route the Revenue unsuccessfully attempted and exhausted in this very case.
  • Final Outcome: The appeal filed by the Revenue was dismissed, confirming that the regular tax authorities cannot initiate parallel reassessments once an ITSC settlement order has attained finality.

2026 INSC 1000

Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax & Another v. M/s. Omaxe Limited (D.O.J. 16.09.2026)

2026 INSC 1000 click here to view full text of judgment

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