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In the recent case of the UAE Exchange Centre, India’s Supreme Court (SC) highlighted the principles surrounding the taxability of foreign entities having a liaison office or a place of business in India. It should not be presumed that a liaison office will not constitute a permanent establishment in India merely because the Reserve Bank…

On May 1, 2020, the Indian government further extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown until May 17, 2020. The third phase of the lockdown is based on demarcation of districts into three (3) zones and reasonably well-defined exemptions for each zone under the revised guidelines (the “Revised Guidelines”) issued yesterday. The Revised Guidelines will be effective…

On April 17, 2020, India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade issued a press note amending the foreign direct investment (FDI) rules applicable to investments from countries having a land border with India. Following this, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification in the official gazette on April 22, 2020 (Notification) to amend…

On April 7, 2020, the Rajasthan High Court (HC) quashed a complaint registered against Jack Dorsey, head of the social media networking site “Twitter” and Anna M. M. Vetticad (Anna), a journalist and film critic, for hurting the feelings and religious sentiments of Brahmins in India. This case once again raises the fine line between…

On March 24, 2020, in order to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Indian government imposed a mandatory countrywide lockdown of all offices and establishments until April 14, 2020. Only essential services providers were allowed to function, and detailed guidelines were issued by both, the Central (Federal) and State governments, on who…

In September 2019, with a view to easing the regime for investments by foreign portfolio investors (“FPIs”), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (the “SEBI”) notified the SEBI (FPI) Regulations, 2019, which replaced the erstwhile SEBI (FPI) Regulations, 2014. The new regulations categorized FPIs into two different groups namely, Category I and Category II…

Tolling of the statute of limitation As a result of the health emergency situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with effect from March 15, 2020 until further orders, India’s Supreme Court (SC), in exercise of its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, read with Article 141, has extended the period…

Introduction and implications in a nutshell As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (the “RBI”) Annual Report, the number of card payment transactions carried out through credit cards and debit cards during 2018 and 2019 was 1.8 billion and 4.4 billion, respectively. Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) recorded a volume of about 4.6 billion transactions valued…

Since December 2019, the impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has, gradually, but incrementally, been felt in almost every country in the world. As a consequence of COVID-19, businesses have had to limit, if not completely restrict, their operations in various countries in the world, either voluntarily or under instructions from local authorities or governments. In India,…

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected almost every country in the world, and India is no exception. To control the spread, the Indian government has imposed a mandatory countrywide lockdown from March 24, 2020, until April 14, 2020. Only establishments and workplaces that provide essential services can continue operations, subject to adopting necessary measures to…