legal excellence since 1943

Introduction On November 30, 2015, the Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) revamped the regime governing external commercial borrowings (“ECBs”) by Indian companies and introduced a revised framework (the “Revised Framework”). The Revised Framework significantly relaxes the rules on permitted lenders, rupee denominated borrowings (“RDBs”) and long term foreign currency denominated borrowings (“LTBs”). The Revised…

Introduction The real estate sector in India forms a critical component of the Indian economy and contributes 5-6% to the GDP. Although this sector has stagnated over the last couple of years, it has started to show a turnaround, and growth is expected on the back of a rising economy.  In terms of foreign direct…

Introduction India stands committed to having a Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) regime that is investor friendly and promotes foreign investment for overall economic growth.  Since the Modi government came to power in June 2014, many FDI policy reforms were made in sectors such as defence, rail infrastructure, construction development, insurance, pension, medical devices and others. …

Sasan Power Limited v. North America Coal Corporation The often debated question of whether two (or more) Indian parties can opt for a foreign seat of arbitration has surfaced again.  The Madhya Pradesh High Court (the “MP HC”) has, in the case of Sasan Power Limited v. North American Coal Corporation (the “Sasan Case”), held…

Recently, in the case of Wipro Limited (the “Taxpayer”), the Karnataka High Court (the “KHC”) has held that a foreign tax credit can be claimed against Indian income under the provisions of section 90(1)(a)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the “Act”),  irrespective of the fact that the income is eligible for a deduction under section…

On June 5, 2015, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (the “FSSAI”) issued an order against Nestle India Limited (“Nestle”) imposing restrictions  on the manufacture, sale and distribution of nine (9) variants of Nestle’s product, Maggi instant noodles with tastemaker (collectively “Maggi Noodles”). The main reasons for the ban were: the alleged presence…

Background Section 115JB of India’s Income-tax Act, 1961 (the “IT Act”), provides for taxation of those companies who, despite showing high profits in their books and paying substantial dividends, do not pay or pay only marginal taxes, by taking advantage of the various tax concessions and incentives available under the IT Act.  Minimum Alternate Tax…

Introduction In its Union Budget, 2015, the Indian government has set an ambitious target of installing 175,000 Megawatts (“MW”) of renewable energy by 2022, which will include 100,000 MW of solar energy, 60,000 MW of wind energy, 10,000 MW of biomass energy and 5,000 MW of small hydro energy.  This is in line with the…

Background The provisions of section 90(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the “Act”) permit a non-resident to avail either the provisions of the Act or the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (the “DTAA”), whichever are more beneficial.  There are various judicial precedents propounding the principle that beneficial DTAA provisions override the provisions of the Act. However,…

Introduction To address various issues surrounding distressed assets in the banking system, on February 26, 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) issued the Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in the Economy (the “Framework”). The Framework, inter alia, requires lenders to compulsorily form a Joint Lenders Forum (the “JLF”) if the principal or interest…