[Sourav Paul is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata] The rapid expansion of social media has significantly impacted securities markets, with the emergence of finfluencers, who provide investment advice on social media platforms. These finfluencers have a huge following, primarily comprising retail investors, and exert more...
Deciphering Tax Evasion: A Legal Perspective on Leveraging AI/ML for Robust Enforcement
[Syed Alwaz Asif is a penultimate year law student at Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow.] In an era where organizations and governments are inundated with vast amounts of data, the challenge of effectively detecting and preventing tax fraud has intensified. The overwhelming magnitude of information available often surpasses human capacity to discern intricate patterns and...
Examining the Viability of Corporate Insolvency Resolution for Section 8 Companies
[Niharika Agarwal and Akshita Bhansali are 3rd year students at Gujarat National Law University] In Educomp Infrastructure & School Management Limited v. Millennium Education Foundation (4 July 2023), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) held that an application filed under section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) is maintainable in case of a corporate...
GST’s New Frontier: Taxability of Corporate Guarantees
[Esha Rathi is a final year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School] Parent companies extending corporate guarantees for their subsidiaries is a common practice but has been a subject of debate on whether it can be construed as a taxable service. In July 2023, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence issued tax demand notices to numerous local corporate...
An Endeavour to Understand the “Endeavours” Clause and its “Legal Transplant” in India
[Shinoj Koshy and Radhika Malpani are with Luthra and Luthra Law Offices] Globalisation has led to a significant increase in the cross-border transactions and this in turn has led to “legal transplants” – a phenomenon where contracts memorializing cross-border transactions tend to include legal terms and concepts which are prevalent in other legal systems. The term “legal transplant” was coined...
Unveiling SEBI’s Game-Changing Market Rumours Amendment
[Raashi Sanjay Sarupria is a 3rd-Year B.B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the Gujarat National Law University] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has implemented significant amendments to the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR Regulations”), effective from October 1, 2023. The SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Second...
KPIs in IPO Documents – A Year In Review
[Suchisubhra Sarkar, a graduate of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, is a capital markets practitioner with over four years of experience at leading law firms.] In the aftermath of poor post-listing performance by technology companies, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) took cognizance of the need to standardize and disclose valuation metrics. In...
Streamlining the Voluntary Liquidation Process: IBBI’s Proactive Move
[Manas Rohilla and Smruti Kulkarni are 3rd year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] On 5 October 2023, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) took a proactive stance by releasing the Discussion Paper on Streamlining the Voluntary Liquidation Process (Discussion Paper), proposing amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India...
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SEBI’s Quest for Transparency: Decoding the Disclosure Mandate and the Impact on FPIs
[Palash Varyani is a 3rd-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad] In a recent development, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who meet the stipulated criteria to demonstrate an unprecedented level of transparency regarding their beneficial ownership structures. This disclosure requires...
India’s Commitment to the Cape Town Convention: A Recent MCA Notification
[Tanay Dubey is a third year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University Odisha] Through a notification dated 3 October 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) exempted transactions, arrangements, or agreements relating to aircraft, aircraft engines, airframes and helicopters from the application of the moratorium clause under section 14(1) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code...
RBI’s Draft Directions on Wilful Defaulters: Implications and Concerns
[Aamir Kapadia and Tejas Venkatesh are penultimate year BBA L.L.B. (Hons.) students at Jindal Global Law School] On September 21, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) released the Draft Master Direction on treatment of Wilful Defaulters and Large Defaulters. The purpose behind the draft is to solicit public comments on proposed regulations to tighten the norms applicable to wilful defaulters...
Navigating Regulation 62A of SEBI’s Listing Regulations: Implications on India’s NCD Market
[Tanishq Vijay Vargiya and Vaibhav Nishad are 3rd year students at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has on 21 September 2023 published the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (the ‘Amendment’), by which it introduced regulation 62A of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and...
Algorithmic Anti-Discounting in F.T.C. v. Amazon: Neo-Brandeisian Lessons for Competition Law
[Chytanya S Agarwal is a 3rd-Year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore] Recently, the American Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) sued Amazon alleging that its practices unlawfully maintained its monopoly. The complaint was based on two main grounds – first, the algorithmic processes used by Amazon to curate its search results penalise the retailers...
Critiquing SEBI’s Narrow Interpretation of the Inter-Se Transfer Exemption
[Simran Sharma is a fourth year B.A.,LL.B (Trade and Investment Law Hons.) student at National Law University, Jodhpur} The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) provided informal guidance in June this year on the interpretation of the “inter se transfer exemption” under the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (“Takeover Code”). This post aims to...
Capital Reduction: Tax Conundrums
[Sumit Bansal (Partner), Shivani Chhabra (Associate) and Taranjeet Singh (Associate) are with S&R Associates, Advocates] Capital reduction refers to the technique of reducing a company’s share capital in any form. It is a mechanism usually adopted by companies for re-modelling their capital structure, amongst other means (viz., buy-back of shares and redemption of preference share capital)...
Tussle for Jurisdiction: CCI vs. The Controller General of Patents
[Jishnudeep Kolay and Saumya Bapna are second-year B.A. LL.B (Hons.) students at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru] In July 2023, the Delhi High Court in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson v. Competition Commission of India (‘Ericsson II’) ruled that in an issue of abuse of dominance by a patentee in the exercise of their rights under the patent, the Patents Act, 1970 will...
Supreme Court’s Caution against an Infinite Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process
[Praveen Sharma is a 5th Year Student at MNLU Mumbai] Earlier this month, in RPS Infrastructure Ltd. v. Mukul Kumar (2023INSC816), the Supreme Court addressed a crucial issue concerning the timing of claims in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). The Court was deciding on the question of whether a claim relating to an arbitral award, undergoing an appeal process under section 37 of...
Establishing Performance Validation Agency: Examining SEBI’s Consultation Paper
[Daksh Kasliwal and Prakhar Singh are 3rd year BSW LL.B. (Hons.) students at Gujarat National University, Gandhinagar] Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken multiple steps to enhance the regulatory landscape to foster a more reliable and secure market environment for investors and entrepreneurs. Weeks after releasing a consultation paper to control unregistered...
Navigating the Data Integration Conundrum: A Closer Look at IBC
[Aayushi Choudhary and Vaibhav Gupta are fourth year students of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar] The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) brought about a major change in the landscape of corporate insolvency proceedings in the country. Nevertheless, despite the IBC’s transformative potential, its effective implementation has been hampered by a significant challenge: the...
Analysing the Tax Implications of Bonus Shares
[Arjim Jain is a 3rd year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Odisha] The ruling in DCIT v. Smt Aruna Chandok rendered on 5 September 2023 by the Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (“ITAT”) has shed light on a crucial aspect of taxation in India – the treatment of bonus shares under the Income Tax Act (“IT Act”). In this landmark decision, the ITAT has...
A Bank’s Post-Merger Liability for Pre-Merger Crimes
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court in Religare Finvest Limited v. State of NCT of Delhi (2023INSC819) considered the question whether the transferee bank in a merger can be fastened with corporate criminal liability for offences committed by the officials of the transferor bank prior to a merger of the two entities. The Court answered in the negative given the specific facts and circumstances...
Restoring Equity: Supreme Court on Liquidator Discretion in IBC Bidding Process
[Priyanshu Mishra is a III year BA, LLB (Hons) student at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru] Recently, in Eva Agro Feeds Pvt Ltd v Punjab National Bank (2023INSC809), the Supreme Court decisively clarified the extent of authority granted to a liquidator in rejecting the final bid within an online bidding process. This legal dispute revolved around the rights of the highest...
SC Expands Scope of Enquiry under Section 11 of the Arbitration Act
[Raghav Bhatia is an advocate practising at the Supreme Court of India. He can be contacted at [email protected]] In April this year, the Supreme Court of India in NTPC Ltd. v. SPML Infra Ltd. has expanded the scope of enquiry to be exercised by a court while referring the disputes for arbitration under section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (‘Arbitration Act’). Background...
SEBI’s Proposed Regulations on Finfluencers: Navigating Unresolved Practicalities
[Aamir Kapadia and Avinash Kotval are penultimate and final year BBA LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, respectively] On August 25, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (‘SEBI’) released a consultation paper on ‘Association of SEBI Registered Intermediaries/Regulated Entities with Unregistered Entities (including Finfluencers)’. The purpose behind the...
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