Tag: Derivatives

  • Taxation of Derivative Transactions by FIIs

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (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…

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  • SEBI Decisions on Public Offers and Derivatives

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] SEBI has made some regulatory pronouncements at its board meeting yesterday that concern public offerings of securities and the derivatives markets. As regards public offerings: (i) SEBI has decided that all investors in public offerings (including retail investors) “would be required to bring in 100% of the application money as margin…

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  • Expansion of Currency Futures Trading

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Currently, only US Dollar-Indian Rupee (INR) currency futures contracts can be traded on Indian stock exchanges. It has been decided to expand the market by introducing trading on currency futures in 3 other currencies: Euro-INR, Japanese Yen (JPY)-INR and Pound Sterling (GBP)-INR. Both SEBI as well as RBI have issued notifications…

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  • Regulating Derivatives

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] According to one school of thought, the excessive use of derivatives, particularly credit default swaps (CDSs) was a key cause of the global financial crisis. Related to this is the argument that progressive liberalisation of rules governing derivatives accelerated their downfall. In an interesting debate titled Regulate OTC Derivatives by Deregulating…

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  • Derivatives as speculative transactions

    [Posted by Shantanu Naravane] A recent post here discussed the decision of the ITAT Special Bench at Kolkata in Shree Capital Services v. ACIT, commenting on its relevance for derivative transactions in India. Another detailed examination of the decision, and of the legal issues surrounding the taxation of derivatives, is now available here. In sum,…

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  • Derivatives and Underlying Assets

    [Posted by V. Niranjan] In a very interesting article published in the Journal of Business Law in 2007, Professors Green and Saidov had this to say of software: “…its unique characteristics mean that it is not truly analogous to any conventional chattel with which the law is familiar… despite the fact that it is one…

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  • The Revival of Housing Derivatives

    [Posted by Shantanu Naravane] An article in the latest issue of the Economist discusses the revival of housing derivatives, and its close connection with the recent financial meltdown. The idea first surfaced in 2006, when housing derivatives were available as futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. However, the housing bubble, and the fact that…

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  • The Resurgence of Securitization and CDS

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The concepts of securitization and credit default swaps (CDS) have acquired a negative connotation over the last couple of years since they were said to have triggered the global financial crisis during the second half of 2007. More, importantly, the assets involved were sub-prime loans that underwent a process of disintermediation…

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  • Misrepresentation by a Bank – Consequences – Rajshree Sugars v. Axis Bank

    [Posted by Umakanth Varottil] (In the following post, our guest contributor Karthik Seshadri examines the issue of misrepresentation arising out of the judgment of the Madras High Court in Rajshree Sugars v. Axis Bank. For a background of the case and issues involved, please see Niranjan’s earlier post) In what can be termed as a…

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  • Legality of ‘Exotic’ Derivatives – Part I

    [Posted by V. Niranjan] A previous post had noted that the Madras High Court has recently upheld the legality of the so-called exotic derivatives, holding that they qualify for recovery through the Debt Recovery Tribunal. The following is an analysis of that judgment – Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals v. Axis Bank Ltd. (MANU/TN/0893/2008, C.S. No.…

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