My learned colleague Rodrigo and I have written an article on the M&A environment in Brazil (from an Indian buyer’s perspective). It is available at and I have also excerpted it below. Background Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country and with an estimated population of 200 million, it is also the world’s fifth most populous country after China, India, USA and Indonesia. Brazil is a...
Taxing E-Commerce through State entry tax laws – a short-term revenue maximisation strategy
[The following is an article published in Business Standard today on the recent trend of taxing E-Commerce through entry tax – authored by Sudipta Bhattacharjee, Principal – Tax Controversy Management, Advaita Legal (views are personal). The final concluding paragraph was not part of the published article, and has been added for the sake of completeness.] ; Taxing E-Commerce through State...
M&A Trends in 2015: Focus on “ease of doing business” [ABA India Update]
[The following post is contributed by Satyajit Gupta, Principal – M&A/ Corporate at Advaita Legal. Views are personal, and comments are welcome] With the National Democratic Alliance (“NDA”) gaining a decisive majority in the 2014 general elections, the expectation was that India would experience dramatic growth in all sectors, as the Government and administration would leave...
Press Note 3 of 2016: ‘Old wine in a new bottle’?
Press Note 3 of 2016 issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has had a mixed reception – e-commerce companies have largely remained silent, while some ‘brick and mortar’ retailers have welcomed the prohibition on influencing the price of goods amongst others. We believe that pending litigation and consultations with stakeholders have led the Government to issue the...
FDI in retail: Rising demand for a ‘level playing field’
This article was jointly authored by Satyajit Gupta (Principal, Corporate M&A, Advaita Legal) and Saurabh Sharma (Associate, Corporate M&A, Advaita Legal) and appeared in the Nov 2015 – Jan 2016 issue of Sameeksha, the firm’s newsletter. Birth of e-commerce business India, as a nation, has gone through a phenomenal change since the advent of 2000s – something...
Sexual Harassment Act notified
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has notified December 9, 2013 as the effective date of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“Sexual Harassment Act”). The ministry has also notified the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 which provide clarity in respect some of the...
RBI releases discussion paper on banking structure in India
The RBI issued guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector, vide its press release dated February 22, 2013 (covered here). It was stated in the guidelines that there was a need for an explicit policy on banking structure in India, keeping in view the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee, Raghuram Rajan Committee and other viewpoints. Accordingly, it was announced in the...
RBI revises overseas investment norms
The RBI has just announced the following measures today: (i) It has reduced the limit for Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) under automatic route for all fresh ODI transactions, from 400% of the net worth of an Indian Party to 100% of its net worth. These provisions shall come into effect with immediate effect and would apply to all fresh Overseas Direct Investment proposals on a prospective basis...
Arbitration of Shareholder Disputes
In an article in the Financial Express, my colleague Debashish Sankhari and I have looked at whether disputes of oppression and mismanagement in relation to the affairs of a company can be adjudicated through arbitration. This is an important practical question for many a financial investor (and even a long-term strategic investor) who has agreed to arbitration clauses in the investment/...
SEBI order in Educomp matter
A recent SEBI order has granted an exemption to Educomp’s CMD, Mr. Shantanu Prakash from having to make an open offer in relation to an acquisition of 7.5% of the shareholding of Educomp. At the outset, we should look at the facts in this case which are quite peculiar – Educomp’s CMD, Mr. Shantanu Prakash had pledged 91.8 lakh shares (7.5% of the share capital) of Educomp...
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