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Adani Power Ltd. & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.

Not available · 2026 INSC 1Decided 5 Jan 2026
Not available
Justice Aravind Kumar · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

After courts struck down a 16% customs duty on SEZ-to-domestic electricity sales as illegal, the government reissued the same duty at lower rates (10 paise, then 3 paise per unit); a later High Court bench refused a refund of these lower-rate duties, distinguishing the earlier ruling.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held the earlier ruling was a foundational declaration that no such duty could lawfully be charged at all: a lower rate doesn't cure an illegal levy, and a co-equal High Court bench should have followed the earlier ruling rather than narrowing it. It ordered a refund for the disputed period.

Lesson Learnt

Once a court strikes down a tax as fundamentally illegal, the government cannot keep re-imposing the same charge under a new notification or lower rate and expect it to escape the same legal defect.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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