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The Supreme Court ruled that a personal guarantee defined as a Facility Agreement and deemed part of the loan agreement 'as if set out in extension' incorporates the loan agreement's arbitration clause under Section 7(5). This binds guarantors to arbitration without a separate clause, overturning orders deleting them from proceedings.
CESTAT Kolkata rules that turnkey construction contracts cannot be reclassified as consulting engineer services for service tax purposes, affirming their exemption under Notification No. 25/2012-ST. This clarifies the scope of composite transactions in infrastructure projects and bars extended-period demands absent suppression, protecting PSUs and contractors from misapplied tax liabilities.
CESTAT Chennai ruled that leasing tea estates along with incidental labor, machinery, and infrastructure constitutes a single composite agricultural activity, not a taxable service under the Negative List regime. This clarifies that farmers and plantation owners can lease land with operational assets without triggering service tax liability, reinforcing the exemption for genuine agricultural operations.
The Bombay High Court held that the Mumbai Cricket Association, though not a signatory to the participation agreement, is bound by its arbitration clause under the composite transaction doctrine, as it was an integral part of the same commercial ecosystem as the league organizer. This extends arbitration enforceability to entities exercising de facto control over contractual frameworks, setting a new benchmark for sports and event governance disputes.