Blog Posts
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A Dubious Interpretation of Dharmendra Textile
Three earlier posts have discussed the decision of the Supreme Court in Dharmendra Textile v. Union of India, and how two benches of the ITAT, in Pune and Bombay, have attempted to narrow down the scope of the decision. This reading down has been done in cases where the fact scenarios did not come strictly…
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Competition Law in Transition: Multiplicity of Regulators
In competition law, there seems to be a duopoly situation as far as the regulatory sphere is concerned. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is already in place with several provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 having been notified to take effect from May 20, 2009. Moreover, the CCI has also begun acting on cases…
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An Analysis of the LLP Act
A paper titled The Indian LLP Law: Some Concerns for Lawyers and CAs by Amit M. Sachdeva and Sachin Sachdeva has been posted on SSRN. Here is the extract: With a view to giving the entrepreneurs the necessary regulatory support, India enacted its first law on limited liability partnerships in December 2008, after almost two…
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Is a tax avoidance motive necessary for application of Transfer Pricing provisions?
In a recent decision, ACIT v. MSS India, ITA No. 393/PN/07, the Pune Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had to consider an interesting issue pertaining to the application of transfer pricing provisions. On an appeal after a transfer pricing assessment, the CIT (Appeals) had held in favour of the assessee; deciding that as…
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SEBI Notification Regarding Anchor Investors, etc.
RNI-1300 A couple of weeks ago, we had discussed some primary market reforms that were announced by SEBI. Most of those reforms have now been notified by SEBI by way of amendments to the SEBI (Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines, 2000. The notification contains a fair amount of detail regarding anchor investors. Although such investors…
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Depository Receipts and the Takeover Regulations
SEBI yesterday published its informal guidance in the matter pertaining to Bharti Airtel Limited. The question was whether the acquisition of 36% global depository receipts (GDRs) in Bharti Airtel Limited by MTN and its shareholders as part of the combination transaction would trigger various obligations under the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations,…
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The Duties of Non-Executive Directors
Earlier discussions on corporate governance norms have raised questions about the role of independent non-executive directors in maintaining appropriate standards of governance. In this context, a recent Australian judgment indicates the nature of duties which a non-executive director may be required to discharge. Australian Securities and Investment Commission v. MacDonald involved a situation where the…
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Foreign Venture Capital: Firm Commitment
In order to obliterate the disparity in firm commitment requirements for domestic venture capital funds (VCFs) and foreign venture capital investors (FVCI), SEBI has introduced a new requirement whereby FVCIs are to obtain firm commitment from their investors for contribution of at least US$ 1 million at the time of submission of application seeking registration…
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Budget 2009: Key Features and Some Thoughts
India’s Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, presented the Government’s annual Budget in Parliament yesterday. While commentators brand it a mixed bag, the stock markets do not seem to have received the Budget favourably as the stock indices experienced their largest Budget-day fall in history. The purpose of this post is to highlight some of the…
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Doing Business in India 2009
The Doing Business in India 2009 report, a co-publication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, has been released, along with a press release. The report contains a city-wise analysis that measures business regulations and their enforcement around India. Some of the results seem to defy conventional wisdom. Ludhiana has been found to…
