Blog Posts

  • NLSIR: Call for Submissions

    [Posted by V. Niranjan] I have received the following call for submissions from the National Law School of India Review, which may be of interest to readers. “The National Law School of India Review (NLSIR) is the flagship law journal of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India. The NLSIR is a bi-annual,…

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  • Bombay High Court Upholds Section 14A and Rule 8D – Part II

    [Posted by Shantanu Naravane] In a previous post, the outline of the propositions in Godrej & Boyce v. DCIT was provided, followed by a discussion of the first issue before the Court. The other two issues, and the Court’s conclusions are discussed below. Section 14A(2) and (3) and Rule 8D are Constitutionally valid The next…

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  • Bombay High Court Upholds Section 14A and Rule 8D – Part I

    [Posted by Shantanu Naravane] Earlier posts discussed the decision of the Mumbai Special Bench of the ITAT in Daga Capital, and exceptions to the seemingly assessee-adverse ruling that had been carved by other tribunals and courts. The issue was then heard by the Bombay High Court, which finally pronounced judgment yesterday. The decision in Godrej…

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  • Entry of New Private Sector Banks

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a discussion paper on “Entry of New Banks in the Private Sector”, which paves the way for granting new banking licences. The discussion paper compares India’s position with international experience and then suggests possible approaches (listing both pros and cons) for the way…

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  • Relaxation of Free Float Requirement

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Earlier, on June 4, 2010, the Ministry of Finance introduced a requirement that all listed companies must have a public shareholding of 25%. This was to bring about uniformity and create a level playing field for all listed companies, and was the result of detailed deliberations that spanned several years. Although…

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  • Some Thoughts on the Supreme Court’s Daiichi Opinion – The Significance of Paragraph 48

    [Posted by V. Niranjan] The Supreme Court’s judgment earlier this year on the SEBI Takeover Code is likely to prove extremely influential. A summary of the propositions that emerge from the judgment is available here, and comments on the SAT opinion are available here, and here. Two key issues deserve close scrutiny – the Supreme…

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  • Supplemental Shareholding Disclosure Norms

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] In its board meeting held on August 4, 2010, SEBI introduced three changes to its norms requiring disclosure of shareholding patterns of listed companies. 1. Listing: The first change relates to companies undertaking an IPO. The current regime requires disclosure of shareholding pattern in the offer document and thereafter (after listing)…

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  • Viability of Mandatory CSR

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] CNBC reports on a proposal by the Government to require companies to introduce mandatory CSR spending: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends will now be made mandatory for corporate India, sources in the Ministry of Company Affairs told CNBC-TV18. If approved, companies will have to spend 2% of the average net profit…

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  • Further Measures to Boost Infrastructure Financing

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] In continuation of previous measures, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken additional steps to enable financing in the infrastructure sector. First, the proposed introduction of credit default swaps on corporate bonds (discussed here) covers corporate bonds issued by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) of rated infrastructure companies “keeping in view…

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  • RBI Proposes Credit Default Swaps on Corporate Bonds

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a draft report that proposes the introduction of credit default swaps (CDS) for corporate bonds. Comments are due on the proposal by October 4, 2010. The move to create a market for CDS in India has been delayed for the last few years…

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