Latest news with #pendency
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Business Standard
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Karnataka HC stays GST demand of over Rs 50 cr against Mad Over Donuts
Should a donut or any other bakery product sold by 'Mad-over-Donuts' be treated as a restaurant service and charged 5 per cent GST? Or it should be taxed 18 per cent GST by not classifying donut chains as restaurants at all? The Karnataka High Court (HC) will ponder over it and take a call in the next few days as it stayed a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand of over ₹50 crore against the donut outlet on Friday. Food items sold outside a restaurant setting invite 18 per cent GST, while those served in restaurants are charged 5 per cent GST. Justice SR Krishna Kumar heard the case raising the question whether these products should be classified under restaurant services, attracting a concessional 5 per cent GST rate, or as bakery goods, which might attract a different tax treatment. A copy of the order was uploaded on Monday. Himesh Foods ('Mad Over Donuts'), represented by Advocate Abhishek A Rastogi, told the court that the supply of food products like donuts and cakes constitute a composite supply of services, as defined under the CGST Act. They said that the provision of food at restaurants, eateries, canteens, and messes -- whether consumed on-premises or taken away -- fall under the category of restaurant services, which are taxed at a lower GST rate of 5%. They also referred to a recent interim order of the Bombay High Court, which said that such supplies could be considered services under GST law. The Karnataka High Court said that since there was a prior undertaking by the tax authorities before the Bombay High Court, assuring that no coercive action would be taken while the classification issue was under consideration, the same should be applicable here as well. The court emphasised the importance of judicial consistency and agreed that no precipitative or coercive measures could be pursued by Karnataka's GST authorities during the pendency of the case. The next date of hearing is now on June 6. "… in the light of the undertaking given by the respondents (tax authorities) in relation to the very same petitioner ('Mad Over Donuts') before the Bombay High Court, respondents are directed not to take any precipitative/coercive steps till the next date of hearing,' the order said. Sandeep Sehgal, Partner of tax firm AKM Global, said, 'The company (Mad Over Donuts) pointed out that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) in Mumbai had already issued a consolidated notice covering similar tax issues across multiple states, including Karnataka. Despite this, the Karnataka State GST authorities attempted to raise a separate demand. The court's decision to grant relief to Mad Over Donuts highlights the importance of businesses monitoring overlapping tax actions and taking prompt steps when faced with duplicate proceedings.'
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Business Standard
27-04-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Strengthening NJDG crucial for efficient dispute resolution system: CII
The NJDG was launched in 2015 under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project to track, manage and reduce case pendency across India's judicial system The National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) could accelerate dispute resolution, strengthen judicial efficiency, and foster a more investment-friendly business environment by enabling real-time, data-driven policy intervention, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said. The NJDG was launched in 2015 under the e-Courts Mission Mode Project to track, manage and reduce case pendency across India's judicial system. In the World Bank Group's Doing Business Report 2020, India was ranked 163 out of 190 economies, the CII said. 'With over 5 crore cases pending across various courts and case disposal rates lagging behind the new admissions in many jurisdictions, urgent reforms are required to address the burgeoning pendency of cases," the CII said in its report. The NJDG is an important initiative in the direction of reducing pendency by enabling data-driven policy interventions, it said. The public policy advocacy body also outlined five specific recommendations to enhance NJDG effectiveness, which include suggestions such as the need for introducing a greater degree of specificity in categorisation of disputes in a manner that they are linked to their respective statutes and legal provisions. 'This would help in identifying the most as well as least invoked statutes, assess average resolution times of specific categories, pinpoint specific delays and learn from good practices, which all shall eventually help in implementing targeted policy measures for high-volume, time-intensive and obsolete provisions,' the CII said. Secondly, the NJDG requires a more detailed and standardised case categorisation framework to ensure consistency and comparability in data reporting across courts, it said. The CII has also recommended that all courts of the country report data on the NJDG on a continuous basis, it further said. 'A case in point is Tamil Nadu, which reports only 15 pending commercial cases at district level on the NJDG as against the actual number estimated to be around 5,000,' it said. The scope of the NJDG needs to be enhanced to capture time taken at each procedural stage of litigation, the CII said. Lastly, with a view to fostering competitive spirit among states, the NJDG could report real-time automated rankings of states based on the data collected on the Grid, it said. 'Ranking could subsequently be considered at more disaggregated levels, like for commercial and non-commercial cases separately,' it said.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
New State CIC Rahul Pande to focus on RTI awareness
Nagpur: Senior journalist from Nagpur and Maharashtra's newly appointed Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), Rahul Pande , has said that his focus will be on creating greater awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Governor C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to Pande at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai earlier this week, along with newly appointed state information commissioners Ravindra Thakare, Prakash Indalkar, and Gajanan Nimdev. Thakare and Nimdev also hail from Nagpur. In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Pande emphasised that the RTI Act is a powerful tool for empowering citizens, but its awareness remains largely confined to activists and politicians. "Common people must realise the importance of RTI. Journalists, too, need focused training to use it effectively in their reporting," he said. To bridge this gap, the Information Commission will soon launch extensive public awareness programmes and special training sessions for journalists across Maharashtra. "We want RTI to become a mass movement, not remain restricted to a few," Pande added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Get Intel Laptops With Exclusive Student Perks Intel Laptops | Search Ads Learn More Undo He also noted that with no vacancies left in the Commission, the pendency of RTI cases is expected to drop significantly, reaffirming the Commission's commitment to faster grievance redressal. A key area of focus under Pande's leadership will be sensitising the younger generation about their rights under the RTI Act. The Commission plans to collaborate with NCC and NSS units to spread awareness. Government offices and schools will also be actively engaged as part of this outreach initiative. Maharashtra had been without a CIC since April 2023. Pande's appointment is for a three-year term. Earlier, he served as the information commissioner for the Nagpur division from October 2021 to 2024. During his tenure, he also held additional charge of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Amravati divisions, gaining extensive administrative experience within the Commission.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Democratic AGs win second court ruling against Trump's order on gender-affirming care
A second federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order threatening the federal funding of hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to teenagers. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King in Seattle — a Joe Biden appointee — sided Friday with the Democratic attorneys general of Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota who had sued to restore access to health services for transgender patients 19 years and younger. The services were disrupted by the administration's 'Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation' executive order. The attorneys general argued that Trump's order discriminates against patients on the basis of their sex and intrudes on states' power to regulate medical care, putting their residents at risk. 'If the Order stands, transgender children will die,' they warned in their lawsuit. 'Whatever interest the federal government may have in cutting off treatment to transgender kids during the pendency of this case pales in comparison to Plaintiffs' irreparable harm.' King issued a temporary restraining order one day after a federal judge in Maryland did the same in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of impacted transgender teenagers and their families. While some hospitals around the country that had suspended appointments for gender-affirming care in light of the executive order have resumed services for teenagers, others said they were still reviewing the court orders or did not respond to inquiries about their compliance. With the outcome of both cases still unknown, ACLU senior counsel Josh Block told POLITICO he is frustrated by what he sees as hospitals' 'premature buckling under the threat of this vague order' from the Trump administration, and noted that no hospital has yet challenged the policy in court. 'It's the patients that are being forced to bring these lawsuits because the hospitals are putting their head down,' he said. 'No one wants to stick their neck out and get on the administration's bad side.' Cris Seda Chabrier contributed to this report.
Politico
14-02-2025
- Health
- Politico
Democratic AGs win second court ruling against Trump's order on gender-affirming care
A second federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order threatening the federal funding of hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to teenagers. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King in Seattle — a Joe Biden appointee — sided Friday with the Democratic attorneys general of Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota who had sued to restore access to health services for transgender patients 19 years and younger. The services were disrupted by the administration's 'Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation' executive order. The attorneys general argued that Trump's order discriminates against patients on the basis of their sex and intrudes on states' power to regulate medical care, putting their residents at risk. 'If the Order stands, transgender children will die,' they warned in their lawsuit. 'Whatever interest the federal government may have in cutting off treatment to transgender kids during the pendency of this case pales in comparison to Plaintiffs' irreparable harm.' King issued a temporary restraining order one day after a federal judge in Maryland did the same in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of impacted transgender teenagers and their families. While some hospitals around the country that had suspended appointments for gender-affirming care in light of the executive order have resumed services for teenagers, others said they were still reviewing the court orders or did not respond to inquiries about their compliance. With the outcome of both cases still unknown, ACLU senior counsel Josh Block told POLITICO he is frustrated by what he sees as hospitals' 'premature buckling under the threat of this vague order' from the Trump administration, and noted that no hospital has yet challenged the policy in court. 'It's the patients that are being forced to bring these lawsuits because the hospitals are putting their head down,' he said. 'No one wants to stick their neck out and get on the administration's bad side.' Cris Seda Chabrier contributed to this report.
