The recent change at the helm of affairs of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has rekindled the discussion on the Companies Bill. Newspaper reports indicate that the new Bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament during the monsoon session that begins August 1. The reports also highlight some key areas recently at the forefront. It has been suggested that SEBI will be conferred powers...
Miscellaneous
The following developments and readings may be of interest: 1. Sahara: Public Offering vs. Private Placement We have been following the Sahara case as it involves the crucial question of what differentiates a public offering from a private placement of securities under Indian company law and securities regulation. Newspaper reports (here, here and here) indicate that the Supreme Court has now...
Voluntary Guidelines on Environmental Social Governance
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) this week issued the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental & Economic Responsibilities of Business (ESG Guidelines), which represents a significant and substantial effort in enhancing the protection of stakeholder interests in the corporate sector. The concepts of stakeholder interests and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have...
The New Microfinance Institutions Bill
Over the last year or so, there has been a serious debate about the nature of regulation governing the microfinance sector. In view of the debacle in Andhra Pradesh, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Malegam to review issues pertaining to the sector. The committee submitted its report in January this year. In view of these events, the...
Fuerst Day Lawson: S. 50 Arbitration Act, and “consolidating legislation”
On Friday, a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court (Alam and Lodha JJ.) gave judgment in Fuerst Day Lawson v Jindal Exports [hereinafter “FDL”]. The judgment contains a careful and comprehensive examination of a long line of authorities, and an authoritative analysis of two very important issues in arbitration law and civil procedure—whether a Letters Patent Appeal [“LPA”] is maintainable in...
Patni Computer Systems: Transfer Pricing and “International Transaction”
The Pune Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal recently clarified several aspects of the law in relation to transfer pricing, as well as some issues in relation to the position in relation to Section 10A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The elaborate decision, Patni Computer Systems v. DCIT, is available here. Insofar as the issues in relation to Section 10A are concerned, the principle issue...
RBI’s Changes to Foreign Investment Policy
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced some policy measures as follows: 1. Issue of Shares for Consideration Other Than Cash In its recent foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, the Government of India had announced additional methods for issue of shares for consideration other than cash, such as: (a) import of capital goods/ machinery/ equipment (including second-hand machinery); (b) pre...
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