articles
Intellectual Property Rights
Patent refusal for Enzalutamide: An overview
17 August 2017
Enzalutamide, marketed by the name ‘Xtandi’, is a prescription medicine for treating men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Mergers & Acquisitions / PE
Mega merger in insurance on hold – A closer look
02 August 2017
The complexity surrounding transactions in relation to mergers and acquisitions can never be underscored. Such transactions undergo a prodigious milieu, which involves discussions, proposals, negotiations and most importantly, regulatory approvals.
Authority for Advance Rulings under GST
28 July 2017
In his Budget Speech of 1992-93, the then Finance Minister had assured that, in the interest of avoiding needless litigation and promoting better taxpayer relations in a scheme for giving advance rulings in respect of transactions involving non-residents was being worked out and would be put into op
International Trade & WTO
Compliance with recommendations and rulings of the DSB by the EU in trade remedy cases
19 July 2017
Article 19.1 of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) provides that where a panel or the Appellate Body concludes that a measure is inconsistent with a covered agreement, it shall recommend that the Member concerned bring the measure into conformity with that agreement.
Direct Tax
Taxation of foreign companies regarded as ‘resident’ in India
17 July 2017
Tax liability under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (‘the Act’) of any person is determined based upon his residential status.
Intellectual Property Rights
Guidelines for patentability of computer related inventions – Is this the final chapter?
10 July 2017
The Patent Office has released another revised version of Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs).
Insolvency
Disputing a dispute under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016
05 July 2017
Disputing a dispute under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC” or “Code”) was enacted on May 28, 2016 with an aim to inter alia address and resolve these issues in addition to providing for the mechanism for resolution of insolvency
GST - Old order changeth yielding place to new
27 June 2017
As I sit down to type this article with the famed saying of Alfred Tennyson, despite the hectic schedule of GST assistance to the industry, both types of feelings gush – on the one side sadness creeps as the Central Excise as we know and we grew up with is going to be part of history .
International Trade & WTO
India-EU free trade agreement: State of play and way forward
20 June 2017
India and the European Union (EU) have been negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement known as the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) since 2007.
Direct Tax
Business expenses of pharma companies – A regulatory hurdle
16 June 2017
Pharmaceutical companies incur huge expenses in launching and promoting their products by way of gifts to medical professionals, holding conferences and distribution of promotional material.
Intellectual Property Rights
Virtual patent marking and deemed notice
13 June 2017
One of the defences available to a defendant in a patent infringement suit for avoiding damages, is that he/she was unaware of the existence of the patent(s) alleged to be infringed.
Mergers & Acquisitions / PE, Securities Laws
Recent Rulings on ‘Offer Period’ under Takeover Regulations
01 June 2017
Public offers in relation to acquisition of shares and takeover of public companies in India is governed by a self-contained code enshrined in the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (‘2011 Regulations’),
Direct Tax
Disallowance for non-deduction of TDS - Supreme Court interprets ’amount payable’
26 May 2017
The Honorable Supreme Court of India in a recent Judgment in the case of Palam Gas Agencies ltd. set at rest a controversy which had been raging in the Income Tax circles from 2012.
GST liability on transfer/disposal of assets in lieu of tax liability
23 May 2017
European Union’s Court of Justice has recently (on 11th May, 2017) held that transfer of tangible property to the State Treasury in settlement of arrears of taxes constituting State Budget revenues is a transaction that is not subject to VAT.
International Trade & WTO
Confidentiality in anti-dumping investigations: Supreme Court interprets Rule 7
22 May 2017
A key feature of anti-dumping investigations is the protection available to commercially sensitive information that interested parties provide to an investigating authority.
Intellectual Property Rights
No copyright protection in drawings used on large scale without design registration
19 May 2017
A Single Judge of the Delhi High Court, in April 2017, dealt with the concept of copyright protection in designs in the case of Holland L.P. & Anr. v. A.D. Electro Stell Co.Pvt. Ltd.
Banking & Finance, Regulatory Laws
Dawn of future watchdog for foreign investment in India
02 May 2017
Foreign investments in India are allowed in two routes; (i) automatic route, and (ii) approval route. Since, there was no approval necessary for the automatic route, several sectors were categorized into the approval route. Prior to the economic liberalization in 1991,
Mergers & Acquisitions / PE
Cross-border merger provisions notified
02 May 2017
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified Section 234 of Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act), which specifically deals with cross-border mergers concerning merger or amalgamation of an Indian company with a foreign company and vice-versa, and has come into effect from April 13, 2017.
Direct Tax
GAAR – An Indian-Asian Narrative
27 April 2017
Taxes are mandatory and necessary. Opinion, however, has been divided on the issue that whether taxes are avoidable? The famed Ramsay judgment held that taxes are not avoidable.