legal excellence since 1943

In the recent case of Yum Restaurants (Asia) Pte, the Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (Delhi Tribunal) has held that payments received by a Singapore company from an Indian group company towards salary reimbursement costs in the case of a seconded employee is not in the nature of “fees for technical services” and, therefore, not…

The SEBI has permitted stressed companies to undertake a preferential issue at a price, which is the average of the weekly high and low of the volume-weighted average price (“VWAP”) of its equity shares during the preceding two (2) weeks. In order to be eligible to avail of the foregoing relaxation, a stressed company must…

After the nationwide lockdown was imposed in the third week of March, India’s Securities and Exchange Board of India (the “SEBI”) has been quick-thinking in introducing a slew of relaxations for the securities market with a focus to lessen the burden of listed companies and market intermediaries. In this update, we analyze the key measures…

Foreign investment in India is regulated by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and foreign investors have a strict onus of complying with India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), and its rules and regulations. Any breach of the FEMA rules and regulations can result in penalties being levied against…

On June 5, 2020, the Indian government promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (the “Ordinance”). The Ordinance has been promulgated as a part of the economic package announced by India’s Finance Minister last month. The Ordinance indefinitely bars the initiation of insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”),…

Distress Currently, the one word that best describes the situation of many Indian companies and businesses is “distress”. The two-plus months of a fairly stringent lockdown in most major Indian metros, including Mumbai (which contributes 6% of India’s GDP), has badly impacted several businesses. The measured relaxation of the lockdown feels like the aftermath of…

India is the fifth-largest economy in the world with a workforce of 400 million. Several companies across the world have wholly-owned subsidiaries in India, mainly in sectors like IT and IT-enabled services, financial services, consulting, insurance and healthcare. A large number of multinational companies depend on their Indian subsidiaries and group companies for back-office support….

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…