articles
Corporate
PRAVAAH's role in facilitating regulatory synergy across financial entities
13 June 2024
The article discusses the role of PRAVAAH portal in facilitating how to regulate synergy across financial entities. PRAVAAH Portal is a single window mechanism for submission of application/information in an electronic format to the RBI for seeking various approvals
International Trade & WTO
Navigating the European Union’s Green Trade Frontier: Decoding EU-CBAM for Indian exporters
03 June 2024
The article discuss the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (‘CBAM’) which take care of carbon leakage which occurs when businesses start relocating industries to or products are imported from countries, with less stringent environment policies, apparently to circumvent the cost-intensive climate policies in the European Union. It discusses what are the scope, coverage, phase, timeline, and compliances required by exporters to the EU, in respect of certain goods.
Corporate
International Workers – Conundrum of payment of Provident Fund
02 June 2024
The recent judicial developments have led to certain legal uncertainties and contradictions for compliance in case of deputation and secondment. According to the authors, the factual matrix of employment will have to be determined based on legal jurisprudence.
Direct Tax
Impact of Section 281 on transfer of assets: Myriad issues thereunder
22 May 2024
Section 281 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 empowers the Department to declare a transfer of an asset as void where the transferor, during the pendency of any proceedings or completion thereof, but before the service of notice by a TRO, creates a charge on, or parts with the possession of any of his ‘assets’ in favour of another person. Considering the far-reaching consequences of the provision, the article highlights few practical issues.
Intellectual Property
Patentability – High Court clarifies the language of Section 3(c) of the Patents Act, 1970
21 May 2024
The article elaborately discusses a recent Madras High Court decision setting aside an order passed by the Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs which had refused the grant of a patent under Section 3(c) of the Patents Act, 1970. The Court has held that Section 3(c) would only apply to a process of finding a hitherto undiscovered non-living substance by identifying and isolating it from nature.
Goods and Services Tax
Development Rights: A service or a condition precedent to sale of land
16 May 2024
The divergent perspectives on the treatment of development rights; whether as a service or an outright sale, have led to confusion in the realm of land transactions. Therefore, while finality is anticipated from the constitutional courts in GST regime, it is prudent for businesses to take an informed call on the taxability of development rights.
Customs, Direct Tax, Goods and Services Tax
Is the difference between Tax and Fees obliterated?
07 May 2024
The article discusses the difference between Tax and Fees and how the Courts in recent time are diverting from the earlier decisions highlighting the difference between Tax and Fees.
Corporate, Regulatory
DPDPA: Concerns and impact in the online gaming world
02 May 2024
The article discusses how the gaming industry will be impacted by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. It discusses how the new law once enforced will require platforms, gaming developers, and gamers (or users) alike to pay attention to the framework under which personal data may be processed, notices reviewed, consents provided (where required) and rights exercised with regard to the processing of personal data.
International Trade & WTO
Beyond territorial reach: Transnational subsidies and the evolving landscape
01 May 2024
The article discusses the nature of transnational subsidies, in which a government of one country subsidizes a firm outside of its territory. It explores whether these subsidies can be acted upon under the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), and how certain countries such as the EU and the US are tackling these subsidies.
Direct Tax
From a taxman lens: Life Insurance Policy vis-à-vis Annuity – The modern-day conundrum
22 April 2024
The drastic difference in income-tax treatment of both – Life Insurance Policies and Annuities, requires closer examination of their meaning to distinguish one from another. Demonstrating that there is a thin line of difference between features offered by modern iterations of life insurance policies and annuities, the author points out that it is crucial for insurance companies to take proactive steps to separate the elements of the life insurance policies from that of annuities.
Intellectual Property
Plant variety protection – Procedural infirmities, not impacting eligibility of applicant/application for registration, are not fatal
19 April 2024
The article discusses the recent Delhi High Court Division Bench decision which has held that procedural infirmities, which have no impact on the eligibility of the Applicant to apply for a plant variety application or on the eligibility of the application for registration, are not fatal to the registration, unless such infirmities are due to willful misrepresentation or to gain any undue advantage.
Corporate, Regulatory
MEITY Advisory: Dawn of AI Regulation in India or a false start
01 April 2024
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has on 15 March 2024 issued an advisory on use and deployment of artificial intelligence tools. The advisory subsumes a previous advisory dated 1 March 2024 on this subject. As part of the now expanded diligence requirements as per new advisory, the article elaborately discusses what the new advisory now requires the intermediaries to ensure.
International Trade & WTO
Anti-dumping duty – Overview of methodologies of calculating dumping margins
29 March 2024
This article intends to discuss different methodologies for comparing the export prices with the domestic selling prices in the chosen investigation period, as prescribed under the WTO’s Anti-dumping Agreement and the practices followed in India, the United States of America and the European Union for this purpose. Elaborately discussing the three methodologies, with descriptive illustrations, etc., the author points out that the dumping margins are not the same.
Customs
Game-changing Customs and FTP changes: What you need to know after the 2024 Interim Budget
28 March 2024
The article discusses few recent changes which one needs to know under Customs and Foreign Trade Policy. The Ministry of Commerce has extended the RoDTEP benefit to Advance Authorisation holders, Export Oriented Units and units in Special Economic Zone, and has relaxed the mandatory Quality Control Order compliance for import of inputs under Advance Authorisation and by EOU, for use in exports.
Goods and Services Tax
The ever-evolving advertising industry: Is GST ready for the same?
27 March 2024
The article highlights that one needs to examine whether sports marketing is in the nature of ‘advertisement/sale of advertising space and time service’ or ‘sponsorship service’. According to the authors, considering the overlapping nature of advertisement and sponsorship services, taxing advertisement under forward charge and allowing full ITC of the expenses, while taxing sponsorship under reverse charge and disallowing credit of GST, is creating an artificial discrimination.
Direct Tax
Disallowance under Section 40(a)(i) on payment made to non-residents – Whether violative of Non-Discrimination Article in tax treaty?
21 March 2024
This article seeks to analyze the applicability of the non-discrimination article in tax treaties on disallowance of expenses on payment made to non-residents without withholding the applicable taxes. Decoding the legal position, the authors delve into the litigation trends and ponder over the question as to whether Section 40(a)(i) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 in its present form is violative of non-discrimination Article in tax treaty.
Intellectual Property
Disclaimers – A credible way of amendment in patent claims and specification
15 March 2024
One of the permissible ways of amendments to claims and/or specification is to incorporate suitable disclaimers during the patent prosecution and at the post grant stage. The article aims to bring down the perspectives of the use of disclaimers as a provision to amend claims and/or specification. It focusses on provisions available under Section 59 of the Patents Act, 1970 and a glimpse on such provisions in major jurisdictions such as US and EU that are of greater interest.
Regulatory
Decoding Fiduciaries and Processors: The DPDPA lens
04 March 2024
The article dives deep into the understanding of certain key actors engaged in the processing of personal data – Data Fiduciaries and Data Processors. Observing that while Fiduciaries, by their nature, are expected to exercise decisional control over the purposes and means of processing, and Processors act on the former’s instructions, the article outline various complex situations where the roles blur.
International Trade & WTO
The WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference – Finding Order in times of chaos?
01 March 2024
This article intends to provide an overview of some of the key issues for negotiation at MC 13 and the importance of these issues for WTO Members. It talks about Agreement on Investment Facilitation and Development, Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, Permanent Solution for Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes, WTO Dispute Settlement Reform, and Electronic Commerce.