articles
Direct Tax
Corporate Guarantee – Certainty in taxation not guaranteed!
27 July 2015
Affiliates of Multi National Enterprises (‘MNEs’), in the recent past, are moving more towards functioning independently from their parent, operational and financial.
Intellectual Property Rights
Separation of rights under copyright & design laws
22 July 2015
Under the Indian IP system, a clear distinction has been made between rights available under the Designs Act, 2000 (“the Designs Act”) and the Copyright Act, 1957 (“the Copyright Act”), to avoid any overlap in protection under the two Acts.
GST and centralized registration
15 July 2015
Much has been said about the introduction of levy of additional 1% tax proposed under clause 18 of the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill 2014, (duly passed in Lok Sabha and which is now placed before a special committee, pending for approval by the Rajya Sabha, and subsequently by 50% of State
International Trade & WTO
Courting balance between investor and host state in ISDS
09 July 2015
The India’s model BIT (Bilateral Investment Treaty) was criticised as moving away from investor protection and being unreal.
Resale price maintenance in e-commerce – CCI initiates investigation
22 June 2015
The CCI has in 2014 initiated two investigations into the alleged imposition of minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). The first one was against Hyundai Motor India Ltd (‘Hyundai Case’) and I had written on the legal standard adopted by the Competition Commission of India to initiate investigations
Intellectual Property Rights
Comparative advertising - Acceptable competitive behaviour and law of disparagement
19 June 2015
Advertisement is the act of making a representation in any form in connection with a trade, business, craft or profession in order to promote the supply of goods or services [see end note 1].
Direct Tax
The Revenue Rule & International Taxation
18 June 2015
International law is generally considered as the law of the nations and therefore, the rules of international law have developed into a long standing custom that they are dutifully followed by the individual countries.
Goods and Services Tax, Regulatory Laws
Industrial/ Institutional Consumers – the argument continues
15 June 2015
By Shweta Kathuria The Department of Consumer Affairs (Legal Metrology Division) by notification dated 14-5-2015 amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 (“PC Rules”). The PC Rules were framed to sa
International Trade & WTO
Third party rights under WTO DSU – Ongoing reforms
08 June 2015
The WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) is a central element in providing security and predictability to the multilateral trading system created under the WTO.
Applicability of res judicata in tax matters
25 May 2015
<strong>B</strong><strong>y Amar Gahlot</strong><br /> <br /> <strong><em>Introduction</em></strong><br /> <br /> <em>Res Judicata</em> is the Latin term for "a matter (already) judged", or "a thing adjudicated". It means a case or suit already decided. It was recentl
Mergers & Acquisitions / PE, Regulatory Laws
Tackling Joint Ventures – Issues and Challenges
22 May 2015
The business rationale for a joint venture (JV) ranges from pure play financing of business operations to longer strategic partnerships for sharing of technical/business knowhow. To a large extent, the issues which need to be resolved between potential JV partners depend on the deal
Customs
Drawback of duties debited in freely transferable scrips issued under Chapter 3 of FTP
21 May 2015
The Central Government has recently introduced the new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 (FTP) on with an aim to increase exports of merchandise and services from India from the current (F.Y. 2013-14) USD 465.9 billion to USD 900 billion by F.Y. 2019-20, and to raise India’s share in world exports from 2% to 3.5%.
International Trade & WTO
Time-limit in anti-dumping reviews in India – Rule 23 analyzed
21 May 2015
In the Indian context, the scheme of anti-dumping provisions under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (“the Act”) and the Anti-Dumping Rules (“AD Rules") [see end note 1] broadly divide the proceedings into two forms – original investigation and reviews.
Intellectual Property Rights
Realizing the Digital India dream
21 May 2015
It has been an explosive opening quarter for investments in early stage ventures. The information technology sector alone has attracted a whopping US$612 million of the over US$1 billion reported investments from January to March, 2015.
CCI fines parties for gun jumping
14 May 2015
The Competition Act, 2002 (“Act”) read with the attendant Combination Regulations provide for a mandatory notification of the transaction to the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) provided that threshold limits provided under the Act are met (“combination”).
Direct Tax
Compelling a non-resident to seek PAN: A vexed question
01 May 2015
With a view to enhance detection capabilities of the tax department and enforcing better compliance Section 206AA was inserted by Finance (No.2) Act, 2009 with effect from 01.04.2010.
Intellectual Property Rights
Impact of International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture on Biological Diversity Act
28 April 2015
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (“the Act”) [see end note 1], was passed pursuant to India’s commitment to United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity (“Convention”), which reaffirms the sovereign rights of the States over their biological resources.
An economic perspective on environmental jurisprudence in India
22 April 2015
Over the past few decades, the Supreme Court of India has taken environmental degradation very seriously. The Supreme Court has proactively incorporated advanced legal principles such as polluter pays, precautionary principles, absolute liability
Securities Laws
How to train your dragon – Discretion in SEBI’s penalty orders
22 April 2015
This article seeks to question the penal powers of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), regulator of the Indian securities market. SEBI has been vested with powers to impose heavy penalties on companies indulging in activities that hamper investor interests and securities market.