[Rohan Deshpande practices as a Counsel at the Bombay High Court.] The Bombay High Court in Aslam Deshmukh v. ASAP Fluids Pvt. Ltd. (decided on February 22, 2019) was concerned with a question whether the proceedings for appointment of an arbitrator arose out of a domestic or an international commercial arbitration. The question under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘Act’) is...
The IBC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020: Need to Iron Out the Creases
[Rongeet Poddar is a graduate of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and Sayak Banerjee a 3rd year student at National Law University, Jodhpur] The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 was promulgated on June 5, 2020 and came into force immediately. The amendment acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has harmed businesses around the world following a...
Tax Implications of the COVID-19 Response: Corporate Residency and POEM
[Manjri Singh and Vijayaditya Reddy are IV year students at NALSAR University of Law] The public health emergency caused by the corona virus pandemic has plunged the world into uncertain times. In order to ensure continuation of business in such an environment, video conferencing and other remote options are the only possibilities for conducting corporate meetings. For example, the Ministry of...
The Arbitration Workshop: First Case Summary Writing Competition
[Announcement on behalf of the Arbitration Workshop] The Arbitration Workshop announces its first Case Summary Writing Competition. The Arbitration Workshop is looking for students interested in the study of arbitration law, contracts and allied statutes to use their summarizing skills and submit a case summary on any one of the cases listed below. We would like to state that the winners of the...
NCLAT Rules on Algorithmic Collusion by Cab Aggregators
[Basu Chandola is a Research Assistant at the Jindal Initiative on Research in IP and Competition (JIRICO)] In a Samir Agrawal v Competition Commission of India (29 May 2020), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (‘NCLAT’) has ruled on the possibility of hub-and-spoke cartels between the cab aggregators and the drivers. The appeal arose against the decision of the Competition Commission of...
India’s Equalisation Levy: Perspectives and Tax Positions
[Hardeep Singh Chawla is an Advocate with an LL.M. in International Taxation from NYU School of Law. He may be reached at [email protected]] Much has been written about the expanded scope of the equalisation levy (“Levy” or “2020 Levy”) (see here and here) under the Finance Act, 2020. At a simplistic level, this Levy is introduced to capture into the tax net transactions that escaped...
SEBI Working Group Report on Social Stock Exchange
[Rongeet Poddar is a 5th year student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences] The Working Group Report on Social Stock Exchange constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has evaluated the prospect of introducing a ‘Social Stock Exchange’ (SSE). As acknowledged in the Report published on 1 June 2020, the Finance Minister of India had previously called...
‘Dispute Prevention’ under the India-Brazil BIT
[Vishal Hablani is a 4th year B.A.L.L.B. Hons. Student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata] On January 25, 2020, India inked the Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty with Brazil. Effectively, it is a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the two countries. The newly signed BIT garnered worldwide attention owing to the unique clause it contained...
Third Party Funding in International Commercial Arbitration: Confidentiality Concerns
[Sreeja Sengupta is a 3rd year B.A. L.L.B. Hons. student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences] Confidentiality of proceedings in commercial arbitration is one of its foremost advantages. Specifically, in the field of international commercial arbitration, which involves multinational companies and sometimes even state utilities, confidentiality assumes great significance as...
Applicability of Force Majeure in Commercial Lease Agreements Amid Covid-19
[Sumit Kumar Gupta is a 4th year student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata] Covid-19 has unleashed an unprecedented economic crisis, and has brought with it a plethora of issues surrounding commercial lease agreements, as tenant associations increasingly seek waivers. The question whether the lockdown would entitle tenants a guarantee of waiver or claim...
Interpreting Bias in the IBC: Lessons from SBI v. Metenere Ltd.
[Eeshan Mohapatra and Shubhaankar Ray are IV year students at NALSAR University of Law Hyderabad] The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (‘NCLAT’) in the recent decision of SBI v. Metenere Limited held that the substitution of an interim resolution professional (‘IRP’) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was valid for the fact that the appointment of the IRP, who was...
Competition Regulatory Framework Governing Hostile Takeovers in India
[Rajat Maloo is a III year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] In 2019, the L&T-Mindtree hostile takeover battle revitalised the dialogue on the market for corporate control in India, which has until date witnessed only a few hostile takeovers. Apart from the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (‘Takeover...
The Delisting Dilemma
When the financial markets are on a decline, company managements tend to utilize it as an opportunity to delist shares from stock exchanges. Not only is there a perception that the depressed market price is far from reflecting the true value of the company, but it also provides the promoters the ability to acquire the shares of the public shareholders at a relatively lesser cost. It is no wonder...
The Delhi High Court on a Test for “Sectoral Regulators”
[Karan Kamath is a 2020 B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) graduate from Symbiosis Law School, Pune] The Delhi High Court in Monsanto Holdings Pvt. Ltd. v. Competition Commission of India (20 May 2020) ruled that the Supreme Court’s determination in CCI v. Bharti Airtel Ltd.(2018) is not applicable to the Controller of Patents. It also ruled that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) could investigate...
Post COVID-19 Mergers and the ‘Failing Firm Defence’ : A Need for CCI’s Proactive Role
[Parina Muchhala is a 3rd year student and Ira Pandya a 4th year student, both at the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai] The effects of the COVID-19 outbreak has led to interruption of supply chains, reduction in consumer demand and disruption of economies. It has also led many companies to file for bankruptcy worldwide. This indicates that while COVID-19 has also negatively impacted...
Call for Papers: NUJS Journal on Dispute Resolution
[Announcement on behalf of NUJS’s Journal on Dispute Resolution] The Journal on Dispute Resolution (‘JODR’) is the flagship biannual journal of the Mediation Clinic, published under the aegis of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. It is an open-access, student-reviewed journal, that aims to provide a platform for the discussion of national as well as international...
Adjudicatory Powers of the (Interim) Resolution Professional: Murky Legal Waters
[Muskan Agarwal is a 4th year law student at National Law Institute University, Bhopal] Sections 18 and 25 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) lay down the duties of an interim resolution professional (IRP) and a resolution professional (RP) respectively. Section 18 states that duties of an IRP include, inter alia, receiving and collating “all claims submitted by creditors to him...
Online Certificate Course on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (June 19-June 21, 2020)
[Announcement on behalf of Umang Foundation] This course is an annual 3-day course on Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency especially focusing on the developments in the insolvency regime in India and the major cases. The academic session is spread across nearly 25 hours and covers various areas such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, corporate restructuring, the role of the...
Equalization Levy: India’s Experiment with Taxation of the Digital Economy
[Mohit Agarwal and Vibhore Batwara are fourth-year law students from the Institute of Law, Nirma University (ILNU), Ahmedabad, India] An expanded version of equalization levy (EL) has come into force in India from 1 April 2020. EL found no reference when the Finance Bill was initially introduced in the Parliament in February, nor was there any anticipation or any consultation with the impacted...
NAFED v. Alimenta S.A: Supreme Court Reverses Trend in Public Policy
[Prince Todi is a 3rd year student at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur] The Supreme Court’s decision in NAFED v. Alimenta S.A (Alimenta) (previously discussed here) sparked controversy concerning the interpretation of the term ‘public policy’. The Court refused to enforce a foreign award on the ground that a violation of the Indian law and export restrictions amounted to a...
Supreme Court on Liberal vs. Literal Interpretation of Contracts
[Paridhi Rastogi is 4th year B.Com. LLB (Hons.) student and Yagya Sharma a 4th year BA LLB (Hons.) student, both at the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad] On 11 May 2020, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court gave its verdict in South East Asia Marine Engineering and Constructions Ltd. (SEAMEC Limited) v. Oil India Limited while dealing with certain aspects of arbitration and...
Proposed Amendments to the IBC: A Half Baked Scheme?
[Anushka Garg is a fourth-year B.B.A., LL.B. (Business Law Hons.) student at National Law University, Jodhpur] In wake of the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 crisis, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rolled out several measures to provide relief to companies that face the threat of insolvency. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 will be modified to bring various important...
Avoidance Proceedings under the IBC: Time for a Tweak in the Regime?
[Arnav Maru is a fourth year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student and Bhavya Solanki a second year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student, both at MNLU Mumbai] As the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 approaches its fourth anniversary, it has proven effective in reshaping the Indian insolvency landscape. A 2019 report by CRISIL had highlighted that the Code had greatly benefited creditors, as compared to the...
SAT on the Nature of Offering of Fully Convertible Debentures
[Aastha Agarwalla is a 2nd year law LLB student at the Campus Law Centre. Faculty of Law, University of Delhi] In order to streamline the process for access to capital for a company, the Companies Act, 2013 prescribes various funding options by issuing various kinds of securities. Depending upon the specific circumstances and requirements, a company pursues a viable financing option ranging from...
Application of Section 29A of the IBC to Schemes of Arrangement
[Nipuna Varman is a student at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and Lalitha Nandula a student at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC) focuses on two aspects, i.e., the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and the liquidation process. The CIRP is prescribed for the revival of the corporate debtor. Under the IBC, the focal...
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