[Naren BS is an independent legal consultant and was previously a Senior Associate with a leading law firm] This post represents a brief discussion on the characteristics of equity and preference capital under the Companies Act, 2013 and the flexibility of cross-characterization between the two kinds of capital, i.e. imputing the characteristics of one kind of capital to the other. Background and...
SEBI Informal Guidance: Investment Banking for State-Owned Enterprises
In order to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the various regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) provide that merchant banks cannot act in transactions involving their “associates”. This is so in public offerings, takeovers, buybacks, delisting offers and similar transactions that mandate the requirement for a SEBI-registered merchant banker. In case the...
Arbitration: Supreme Court Allows Jurisdictional Challenge in Setting Aside Proceedings
[Ayush Chaturvedi and Chandni Bhatia are 4th Year B.A.LLB (Hons) students at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow] In Lion Engineering Consultants v. State of M.P., the Supreme Court allowed the plea of the State of Madhya Pradesh challenging the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal for the first time in a proceeding for setting aside of an arbitral award under section 34 of...
Liquidation Before Resolution?
[Richa Sarafis a Legal Advisor at Vinod Kothari Consultants Pvt. Ltd.] Historically, it has taken an unduly long period of time to wind up or liquidate a company in India as compared to other countries. Such lengthy time-frames are detrimental to the interest of all stakeholders. The process ought to be time-bound, aimed at maximizing the chances of preserving value for the stakeholders as well...
Analysis of “Externalisation” under Indian Law
[Deepansh Guwalani is a 4th Year Student at ILS Law College, Pune] Introduction “Externalisation” is a strategy of incorporating holding companies in offshore jurisdictions to enjoy certain benefits which the home country does not offer. The strategy is employed by companies to move their corporate structures away from the Indian tax and regulatory regimes. How it is done The process of...
A Giant Leap for Investors? – Analysing the Delhi High Court’s Verdict in Union of India v. Vodafone
[Sharanya Shivaraman is a IV year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) student at ILS Law College, Pune] Marking the dawn of a new era for investment arbitration in India, the High Court of Delhi pronounced its verdict last week in Union of India v. Vodafone Group plc dismissing the Government’s petition challenging the Vodafone Group’s move to initiate two international arbitrations against India. The judgment of...
The Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018: A Positive Step Forward for Institutional Arbitrations in India
[Utsav Mitra is a B.A., LL.B (Hons.) student at National Law Institute University, Bhopal] The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018(“Bill”), proposed to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“Act”), was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 7 March 2018 to be introduced in the Parliament. This Bill seeks toencourage institutional arbitration...
Presenting a Critique of Green Financing in India
[Priya Garg is a 4th year student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS)] The concept of “green banking” has two primary aspects – first, making banks and other financial institutions conduct their operations in an environment-friendly manner; second, their role of extending credit on favourable terms to eco-friendly projects. For the purpose of this post, I refer...
Front running – ill-conceived law and inequitable orders of SEBI
SEBI has passed an order on 8th May 2018 in a case of front running. On the face of it, there is nothing distinctive. The law relating to front running has seen ups and downs in the past, with even contradictory decisions of SAT, but the Supreme Court ([2017] 144 SCL 5 (SC)) largely settled the matter. Yet, this order raises and reminds of concerns that the law has not been thought through well...
India’s GAAR and the Multilateral Instrument: A Consideration for Foreign Portfolio Investors
[Aditi Khemani is a 4th Year student at Jindal Global Law School] Introduction Since the Union Budget of 2018-19, the India-Netherlands Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) has garnered attention. A major renegotiation of India’s treaties with Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore last year saw a shift from the “residence rule” to the “source rule” of capital gains taxation. This eliminated the...
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