Blog Posts
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SEBI bans ULIPs – but what about other similar “insurance” products?
SEBI has rightly banned ULIPs by its recent Order. It was also the next logical and even bold step to deal with this product that is aggressively and misleadingly sold by several unscrupulous agents under the head-buried-firmly-in-sand attitude of several insurance companies. But what about other products including endowment policies which share the traits of…
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NLSIR Corporate Law and Corporate Governance Symposium: April 10 and 11, 2010
The NLSIR Symposium, scheduled for 10 and 11 April at the NLS campus in Bangalore, will feature several important topics that we have discussed on the blog, including corporate governance, independent directors, tax planning, tax avoidance and adjudication of company disputes. The schedule for the symposium is indicated below. Readers interested in attending may contact…
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A Rather Elusive Form of the Statutory Corporation
Any discussion of the difference between a company and a statutory corporation seems, at first sight, unnecessary. It is, after all, settled law that a statutory corporation is an entity created by a statute, while a company is an entity that is governed by the provisions of a statute. This distinction, however, has become sharply…
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Consolidated FDI Regime Operational
As we had discussed in December 2009, the Government had proposed a draft master press note to consolidate the regime relating to foreign direct investment (FDI). The consolidation exercise has now fructified with the issue of the Consolidated FDI Policy (Circular 1 of 2010), which takes effect from April 1, 2010. The policy document itself…
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Taxation of Derivative Transactions by FIIs
(The following post has been contributed by Ravichandra S. Hegde of J. Sagar Associates) Profits earned from derivative transactions are business income, not liable to be taxed in India at the hands of the FII: AARThe Authority for Advance Rulings (“AAR”), Income Tax, in its recent decision dated March 22, 2010 has held that the…
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The Supreme Court on Penalty
Earlier posts had discussed the decision of the Supreme Court in Dharmendra Textiles, and its subsequent interpretation by the High Courts and Tax Tribunals. One of the most important reading downs was seen in the decision of Mumbai Bench of the ITAT, in ACIT v. VIP Industries. The Tribunal there considered a case where penalty…
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IDR Offering Document
Here is the draft red herring prospectus for the first ever offering of Indian depository receipts (IDRs) proposed by Standard Chartered Bank. Particularly interesting is the section titled “Frequently Asked Questions on the IDR Facility” on pages 42-51 that provides details of operation of the IDR mechanism.
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Governance Norms for Central PSUs
In 2007, the Central Government issued the Guidelines on Corporate Governance for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). This was a measure introduced to bring corporate governance norms in CPSEs on par with the private sector. However, it was only a voluntary measure. On March 25, 2010, the Government announced that the Guidelines would now be…
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E*Trade Mauritius: Reaffirming legal form over economic substance
The Authority of Advance Rulings has issued its ruling in the matter of E*Trade Mauritius; and the Ruling essentially follows the decision of the Supreme Court in Azadi Bachao Andolan. The facts before the Authority were that the Applicant was a company incorporated in the Mauritius, and had been issued a Tax Residency Certificate by the Mauritius income tax authorities.…
