Almost all agreements aimed at avoiding double taxation (DTAA) define the term permanent establishment, which is a very important concept when it comes to taxing business profits.
The term “permanent establishment” broadly refers to a fixed place where the business...
In recent years, the government has moved to promote the use of public private sector partnerships in building the country’s infrastructure and liberalize foreign direct investment (FDI) in real estate.
FDI up to 100% is now permitted in townships, housing,...
The 2006-07 financial year was expected to be a year of unprecedented activity in the Indian equity capital markets following the extraordinary stock market gains of the preceding three years.
The US$6 billion raised through public equity offerings during the...
Financing has two key components – long-term debt and short-term funds. In an ideal world, a person intending to raise debt finance would be able to raise it from any market that meets his needs of cost, time, repayment...
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Top India-focused Law...
The entry of foreign law firms will create havoc and undermine the “noble heritage” of the profession in India, says Lalit Bhasin, president of the Society of Indian Law Firms.
Lawyers have not only played a crucial role in the...
Indian Railways is rolling forward with new public private partnerships. The details are still sketchy but the newly successful state owned enterprise is looking for investors to climb aboard.
Alfred Romann reports
Much like the man in charge of it, India’s...
Among the key implications of India’s Patent Act is its lack of clarity, explains Pravin Anand.
TThe Indian Patent Law has been substantially mod ernized over the last two-and-a-half years. On Janu ary 1 2005 the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005...
India’s huge generic drug industry is watching how a single lawsuit based on a very narrow piece of law will turn out. Novartis says the case is about protecting intellectual property. Its opponents disagree.
By Alfred Romann
Very few Indians have...
As India booms, foreign law firms wait impatiently for a share of the spoils. Prohibited from entering the market, they stalk from afar. How will they pounce when the prey is in range?
By George W Russell in Bangalore
With faint...
thForeign institutional investors, mutual funds, and other institutions may be allowed to short sell their stocks under a March proposal by the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Though the guidelines are not yet...
In the largest initial public offering in India to date, Cairn India sold shares worth almost US$1.945 billion on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. Cairn, a subsidiary of Scottish oil and gas company Cairn Energy Plc,...
Vodafone, a British mobile phone company, finally acquired a stake in Hutchison Essar in May, paying US$180m less than the agreed price of US$11.08 billion.
Hutchison Essar’s parent company in Hong Kong, Hutchison Telecom, will be paid US$10.9 billion, after...
Technicolor Entertainment Services, a Thomson Holdings group company, has made a strategic investment in Paprikaas’ Interactive Services, a leading animation and game content provider.
Technicolor hopes to propel its creative, technical and computer animation capabilities in 3-D digital animation, feature...
Two venture capital firms, Clearstone Venture Mauritius and SVB Financial Group, have acquired a stake in Games2win India (www.games2win.com), an online gaming portal, and a spin-off from Contests2win.com India, for about US$5m.
According to Nishith Desai Associates, which advised the...
The US$12.2 billion Tata Steel-Corus deal in late 2006 drew worldwide attention to the increasing value of Indian-backed foreign takeovers. In 2006 alone, Indian companies spent a record US$23.126 billion in foreign acquisitions, according to a survey by market...
The Delhi High Court ordered local Indian traders to halt parallel exports unless they have the permission of the trademark holder.
Haldiram’s, a food manufacturer, applied for the injunction after it found Indian traders exporting products intended for the domestic...
The Indian government approved in February a plan to accede to the Madrid Protocol, which covers global trademark protection.
If the proposal gets the backing of the Parliament, international trademark owners will be able to extend their rights to the...
Tata Steel has arranged the largest loan to date for an Indian company in a move that could impact the credit derivatives market.
Advised by Herbert Smith, Tata Steel got its new long-term financing in May for the takeover of...
Legal advice can be costly, but Net Lawman, a UK-based law firm, is making it cheaper though a website that offers advice to Indian citizens and lawyers on a wide range of issues, from setting up a business to...
Delhi wants to issue multi-purpose national identity cards, according to corporate law firm Kesar Dass B & Associates.
A Rs440m (US$10.9m) pilot project is underway in selected districts of 12 states and one union territory. Depending on the success of...
RS Loona, former general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has joined law firm Kesar Dass B & Associates
to head its capital markets and infrastructure practice in Mumbai. Loona joined SEBI in 2003 as...
The Law Ministry has once again set its sights on nepotism in the legal sector, demanding that the Bar Council of India prevent related lawyers and judges from appearing in the same cases.
The problem is widespread. A report on...
Hinduja TMT Technologies and law firm FoxMandal Little, India’s largest, have entered into a joint venture with UK-based consultancy Centric to set up a legal process outsourcing firm.
Hinduja and FoxMandal will hold a 60% stake while Centric will own...
India may still be one of the most bureaucratic countries in the world but it is making headway in disentangling its red tape, according to a new World Bank report.
Both India and Pakistan have made efforts to reduce the...
Singapore’s Ascott Group is laying down foundations in Chennai and Bangalore after an August 2006 agreement with Indian developer Rattha Group to acquire and develop seven residences across India by 2010.
FoxMandal Little is advising Ascott, while Rattha is being...
A freeze on forced land acquisitions for special economic zones (SEZs) was lifted in early April, despite violent protests that left 14 people dead the month before in West Bengal, where farmers opposed to clearing land for a petrochemical...
Air India and Indian Airlines have announced plans to merge within the next three months to create a more competitive airline.
The cabinet cleared the merger plans in March after it was agreed that a single state-owned airline would be...
Jet Airways is to merge with Air Sahara. Lawyer Rustam Gagrat confirmed that the two airlines had agreed to revive merger talks that fell through last year.
DSK Legal advised the Sahara Group, and Gagrat’s law firm represented Jet Airways....
The German unit of India’s Suzlon Energy upped the ante in April in a bidding war for German wind turbine manufacturer REpower by raising its offer to the equivalent of US$1.65 billion.
Suzlon Energy, the fifth-largest wind energy firm in...
Tata Power announced plans to spend US$1.1 billion to buy into one of Indonesia’s largest thermal coalmines.
Through an offshore Special Purpose Vehicle, Tata Power plans to buy a 30% equity stake in Indonesian coal producers PT Kaltim Prima Coal...
International law firm Allen & Overy will fund a 10-year endowment at the India University in Bangalore. The endowment will be known as the Allen & Overy Professor of International Financial Law, the firm said in May.
The firm has...
Italian oil company ENI is working out a deal with Apar Industries to transfer technology and license the Mumbai-based company to manufacture and sell lubricating oils, greases and special products for industrial, automotive and marine applications.
Diljeet Titus, senior partner...
A new intellectual property rights academy opened in Ahmedabad in April.
The YJ Trivedi-AMA Academy for Intellectual Property Rights was set up by the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) and by YJ Trivedi, a leading patent and trademark lawyer. Ahmedabad is...
In a multi-billion dollar scheme, Reliance Industries announced plans to expand its domestic natural gas production. Reliance plans to invest US$5.2 billion on production at two fields in the Krishna Godavari basin.
“The company will begin producing 40m cubic metres...
Dear Sir,
I am happy to learn of the launch of the India Business Law Journal. I am sure that the Editorial Board shall ensure it plays a leading role in addressing important issues.
One such issue is the framing of...
Dear Sir,
India is a multifaceted country with diverse laws and the path to success is rarely smooth. To operate and survive in India requires compliance with a complex legal framework while seizing opportunities for growth.
Yum! Restaurants (India) and its...
The Central Silk Board (CSB) in May filed a lawsuit against the ministries of finance and commerce and industry for improper handling of an anti-dumping case against Chinese silk imports.
The CSB, run by the government of Karnataka, filed a...
With a more flexible fee structure introduced in Hong Kong, Teresa Cheng, arbitrator, mediator and co-chairman at the Asian Academy of International Law, and Edward Liu, Hong Kong-based partner at Haiwen & Partners, expect bountiful benefits for arbitration parties,...
“This creates a classic ‘chickenandegg’ dynamic; founders and customers want to see a wellfunded, viable investment platform, while investors are reluctant to scale up the deployment of capital until approvals are obtained and customers are secured
AK & Partners
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