The Government of India has issued a Press Release on September 10, 2008 that states: “The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched a new website named www.companyliquidator.gov.in as a part of its initiative to bring greater efficiency in the functioning of the Official Liquidators placed at the disposal of various High Courts in the country. This website would, in addition to information...
International Taxation: Analysis of a Recent Bombay High Court Ruling
(The following post has been contributed by Mihir Naniwadekar. We would like to thank Bhushan Shah for bringing this judgment to our attention) The Bombay High Court recently answered important questions pertaining to international taxation in SET Satellite Singapore v. Deputy Director, Income Tax (International Taxation) [ITA no. 944/2007; reported in MANU/MH/0739/2008. The Court followed the...
When Car Troubles Become Lemon Troubles
(The following post comes to us from Sergei Lemberg, Esq., who discusses the concept of lemon law) There are few things more frustrating in life than not having a car you can depend on. After all, you need your vehicle to get to work, to take the kids to school and to their other activities, to run errands, and to go out and have a good time. It’s inevitable that you’ll need to take your car in...
Fairness Reports for Mergers
In a change announced last week, SEBI has amended the listing agreement making it mandatory for companies involved in merger transactions to obtain a fairness opinion. SEBI describes the highlights of this amendment as follows: “1. “Fairness Opinion” of independent merchant banker: In order to safeguard the interest of shareholders, the listed company as well as the unlisted company which are...
Squeezing Out the Minority: Is it a Viable Option?
Although most jurisdictions confer powers on controlling (or majority) shareholders to squeeze out minority shareholders, the position under Indian company law does not appear to be all that straightforward. There exists a powerful provision in the form of Section 395 of the Companies Act, 1956 that allows controlling shareholders, in certain circumstances, to compel minority shareholders to sell...
Death Warrant for Share Warrants
The recent set of amendments effected by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to the SEBI (Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines, 2000 (“DIP Guidelines”) in terms of a circular dated August 28, 2008 (“SEBI Circular”) contains an unexpected surprise. The SEBI Circular 2(vi) states:- “Presently, as per the guidelines on preferential allotment, warrants issued on preferential basis...
Are Companies Bound to Deduct TDS on Service Tax?
(The following post is contributed by V. Niranjan) There is some doubt on the course of action that companies should take, as far as TDS on professional fees is concerned. The question, essentially, is this – should TDS be deducted on the amount of the professional fee paid, exclusive of service tax, or should TDS be deducted on the amount of the service tax as well? This issue has several legal...
A new floor price concept!
A friend pointed me to a notification by the Karachi Stock Exchange which it has issued due to the falling stock prices in Pakistan – The Karachi Stock Exchange came out with a notification that going forward, stocks cannot trade below the closing prices as on 27 August 2008. So, the price as of August 27th is set as floor price for all stocks until further notification!
More Useful Links
The right-hand side of this Blog page contains a list of several useful links and other blogs that carry information relevant to matters discussed here. In addition, I have, over the last few weeks and months, come across a number of other useful repositories of information that are listed below for the benefit of our readers: Indian HEDGE FUNDS INDIA “… a dedicated Hedge Funds site targeted...
Sarbanex-Oxley & the Subprime Crisis
One of our readers points to this column Did Sarbanes-Oxley miss a trick during subprime? in the Mint, where the author observes that the subprime crisis occurred despite the existence of stringent legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). However, unlike past corporate governance failures such as Enron & WorldCom (that that triggered the passage of SOX), there has been no allegations...
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