Search This Blog


Friday, March 17, 2017


CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES | BOUND UNDER RTI ACT

Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act) was enacted with the object to provide citizens with secure access to information under the control of public authorities so as to promote transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities. In the recent case of JalgaonJillah Urban Cooperative Banks Association Ltd v The State of Maharashtra and others (Jalgaon Association Case), the Bombay High Court held that Cooperative Societies are bound under the provisions of the RTI Act.
Read More

Wednesday, March 8, 2017


FAST TRACK EXIT | COMPANIES ACT 2013

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide notification on 26 December 2016 notified Sections 248 to 252 of the Companies Act 2013 (Act) which deals with powers of the Registrar of Companies (ROC) to remove names of companies from the register of companies and the Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Rules, 2016 (Removal Rules), which prescribes the procedure for the removal of names of companies from the register of companies.
Read More

Saturday, February 18, 2017


AMENDMENTS TO MAHARASHTRA TENANCY AND AGRICULTURAL LANDS ACT

Under Section 63 of the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, (“Tenancy Act”), no agricultural land could be transferred to non agriculturists without permission of the Collector or an officer authorized by the State Government on the conditions prescribed under the Tenancy Act. Under the Tenancy Act, an agriculturist shall include any person and his heirs whose land has been acquired for a public purpose and who as a result of such acquisition has been rendered landless from the date of such acquisition.
Read More

Thursday, February 9, 2017


RULES ON COMPROMISES, ARRANGEMENTS AND AMALGAMATIONS | NOTIFIED

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recently notified the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016 (Rules) setting out the revised procedure for compromises, arrangement and amalgamations under the Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act), in pursuance of the notification of Chapter XV of the Companies Act, 2013 on 15 December, 2015.
Read More

Friday, February 3, 2017


SUPREME COURT APPROVES STRUCTURED INVESTMENTS

Supreme Court of India in its recent judgment of IDBI Trusteeship Vs Hubtown Limited (HubTown Case) seems to have approved that foreign investments in structured investments indirectly providing assured returns will be now permitted even though otherwise prohibited under the Foreign Direct Investments in India (FDI).
Read More

Wednesday, January 25, 2017


SEBI ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR MERGERS BETWEEN LISTED AND UNLISTED COMPANIES

Listed companies which propose to enter into a Scheme of Arrangement such as Mergers, Amalgamations and Demergers under the Companies Act, require prior approval from SEBI and the Stock Exchanges on which the securities of the concerned company are listed under the SEBI (Listing and Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 ("LODR Regulations").
Read More

Tuesday, January 24, 2017


ISSUANCE OF CONVERTIBLE NOTES IN STARTUPS PERMITTED

Vide a notificationdated 10 January 2017, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, 2000 (FEMA 20/2000), implementing a key change in the foreign exchange policy by allowing startup companies to issue convertible notes to foreign investors.
Read More

Friday, January 13, 2017


TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITIONS OVERRULE NOMINATIONS UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT

The Bombay High Court has in the recent judgement of Shakti Yezdani And Anr vs Jayanand Jayant Salgonkar ("Yezdani" clarified the contentious question regarding legal rights of nominees with respect to shares by holding that nominations with respect to shares of a company, do not overrule testamentary dispositions with respect thereof and a mere nomination does not confer beneficial ownership to the nominee.
Read More

Wednesday, 30 November 2016


DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF TRUSTS | NON ARBITRAL IN INDIA

The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 Act ("Trust Act"), which is a comprehensive code broadly, lays down inter alia the manner of creation of trust, the rights, powers and duties of the Trustees, provisions relating to breach of trusts, remedies for seeking redressal of grievances arising out of the Trust Deed etc.
Read More

Tuesday, 22 November 2016


ARBITRABILITY OF FRAUD | IS EVERY FRAUD ARBITRABLE?

Fraud is broadly understood as a concealment of material facts or a false representation through statements or actions that injure the person who relies upon them. Arbitrability of fraud, has been a highly contested issue in the field of alternate dispute resolution.
Read More

Monday, 17 October 2016


COMPANIES MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION RULES

Section 442 of the Companies Act, 2013 (`Act`) empowers the Central Government to constitute a panel of experts to mediate and settle disputes pending before the National Company Law Tribunal, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (`Tribunals`) or the Central Government. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (`MCA`) through a recent notification enacted the Companies (Mediation and Conciliation) Rules, 2016 (`Rules`) which prescribe the procedural aspects of such mediation and conciliation.

Read More

Tuesday, 4 October 2016


AMENDMENTS TO SECURITIZATION LAWS

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debt Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act (Act) recently received Presidential assent and thereafter was duly notified in the official gazette. The Act seeks to empower banks to confiscate security in the case of a loan default, a development that assumes significance in view of the recent defaults made by industrialist Mr Vijay Mallya. Finance Minister Arun Jaitely emphasized the need for 'firmness coupled with fairness' in recovering bad loans. The Act majorly seeks to amend four laws:
Read More

Thursday, 18 August 2016


PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BENAMI TRANSACTION ACT

The Benami Transaction Prohibition Amendment Bill 2015 (Bill) has been recently passed by both houses and awaits presidential assent. The Bill makes some much needed changes to the outdated Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988 (Benami Act). Following are the important changes brought about by the Bill: 
Read More

Thursday, 4 August 2016


AMENDMENTS | COMPANIES INCORPORATION RULES

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the Companies Incorporation (Third Amendment) Rules, 2016 vide a notification in the official gazette on 27 July 2016. This update captures some of the important changes brought about by the amendment:
Read More

Thursday, 23 June 2016


FDI REFORMS | INDIA IS NOW THE MOST OPEN ECONOMY IN THE WORLD FOR FDI

After significant changes in the Foreign Direct Investment (``FDI``) policy in November 2015, the Union Government through a very recent Press Release announced further important changes that now make India one of the most open economies in the world.
Read More

Monday, 6 June 2016


Constitution of NCLT | Notification of allied Sections of Companies Act 2013

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the constitution of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Appellate Law Tribunal (NCALT) with effect from 1 June 2016.

Read More

Monday, 30 May 2016


NEW BANKRUPTCY CODE 2016 | SNAPSHOT

Very recently both the houses of parliament have approved the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (``IBC``) fulfilling the need for codification of multiple laws related to insolvency into a single law. IBC is now awaiting the presidential assent.
Read More

Thursday, 17 March 2016


LEGAL UPDATE | REAL ESTATE (REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT) BILL, 2016

Parliament of India has passed the much awaited Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2016 (Regulation) in the ongoing Budget Session. The Regulation has been enacted with an intention to protect buyers, bring transparency and plug the flow of unaccounted monies, which in turn will provide a much needed boost to the real estate sector. In this article, we seek to highlight the key features of the Regulation and its implications on the builders, buyers and the real estate sector in general.
Read More

Friday, 12 February 2016


SUMMARY | RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY COMPANY LAW COMMITTEE

The Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act) was enacted with a view to bring Indian company law in tune with global standards. However, as is the case with every new legislation the enactment of this new Act also led to chaos and confusion in the industry.
Read More

Friday, 12 February 2016


RETROSPECTIVE AMENDMENTS TO PAYMENT OF BONUS ACT

The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (``Bonus Act``) requires payment of compulsory bonus to certain employees of establishment which employs 20 or more persons. The erstwhile provisions of the Bonus Act provided for payment of bonus to the employees drawing a salary not exceeding Rs 10,000/- per month and who has worked for not less than 30 days in an accounting year.
Read More

Wednesday, 3 February 2016


PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE AIF REGULATIONS

Alternative Investment Funds (AIF(s)) play a vital role in Indian economy as they drive the economic growth and contribute significantly to nation building. To regulate AIF's under one regulation, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2012 notified SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 (AIF Regulations). In 2013, SEBI further notified amendments to AIF Regulations. We had provided our legal update on the AIF Regulations and the amendments which can be seen here.
Read More

Saturday, 23 January 2016


STARTUP INDIA | GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES ACTION PLAN

 At the Global Workshop for Start-ups in Delhi, the Modi Government very recently announced a historic Action Plan to promote and provide conducive environment for Start-ups. The primary objective of the Action Plan is to (i) ease the process for young Indians to begin, sustain and develop home-grown businesses; and (ii) driving sustainable economic growth and generating large scale employment opportunities. At this stage this is merely an Action Plan and still has to get translated into law.
Read More

Friday, 20 November 2015


MAJOR FDI REFORMS| A SNAPSHOT

5 The Government last week issued a Press Note announcing reforms (Reforms) in 15 major sectors in respect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The objective of the Government is to ease the process of foreign investments in the country and bring substantial foreign investments under the automatic route in order to avoid the delay in FDI investment in India. These Reforms are also another example of the Government’s emphasis on the ease of doing business. The Key Reforms are as follows:
Read More

Friday, 6 November 2015


AMENDMENT TO INDIAN ARBITRATION ACT

Very recently the president of India has promulgated the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (“Ordinance”). The Ordinance seeks to achieve major changes in the (Indian) Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 ("Arbitration Act") that may be helpful in conducting the arbitral proceedings more effectively and may also help attract more foreign investment.
Read More

Saturday, 17 October 2015


OFFICE SHARING ARRANGEMENT AMONG FOREIGN OWNED AND CONTROLLED COMPANIES | IS IT A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION?

Recently, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), via a Circular clarified that facility sharing arrangements between group companies through leasing/ sub-leasing arrangements shall not be treated as ‘Real Estate Business’ under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy for the larger interest of business (subject to two conditions, elaborated below). This update up goes on to enunciate how this clarification will cause more problems than it solves.
Read More

Tuesday, 14 July 2015


NET NEUTRALITY

In the last few months, net neutrality has been an intensely contested and debated topic in the field of telecommunications law. Net neutrality is the core principle governing internet. Telecom operators and internet service providers through technology can now control the speed of internet to access few of the websites, contents of internet, etc.
Read More

Wednesday, 10 June 2015


Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015

The Companies Act, 2013 (Companies Act) which is still partially to be implemented has been recently amended and notified by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015. The amendments are primarily incorporated for ease of doing business, meet the corporate needs and for removal of inadvertent errors. The following are the key changes that have been incorporated in the new Companies Act:
Read More

Monday, 6 April 2015


Extension of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression to the online world by the Apex Court

The Supreme Court of India in its judgment of Shreya Singhal vs Union of India delivered on 24 March 2015, addressed the issues raised in several writs with respect to the constitutionality of sections 66A, 69A and 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). The judgment has brought an end to a plethora of debates and excessive criticism with regards to the IT Act along with the power it confers on the State to curb freedom of speech and expression, a right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
Section 66A of the IT Act made punishable the sending by computer resource or communication device any offensive or menacing information, any information to cause public annoyance, inconvenience and the like.
Read More

Saturday, 28 March 2015


INSURANCE BILL PASSED| INCREASE OF FDI

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have earlier this month on 3 March 2015 passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2015 (`Insurance Bill`). The Insurance Bill now awaits the presidential assent. Insurance Bill majorly amends the Insurance Act, 1938, the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1999.
Read More

Sunday, 4 January 2015


BOMBAY HIGH COURT | NON-SIGNATORIES BOUND BY ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

The Bombay High Court (BHC) in a recent judgment of Rakesh S Kathotia and Anr vs Milton Global Limited and Ors applied the group of companies doctrine upheld by the Apex Court in the Cholro Controls India Private Limited vs Severn Trent Water Purification Inc. & ors. (2013) 1 SCC 641 whereby an arbitration agreement entered into by a company, being one within a group of companies, can bind its non-signatory affiliates or sister or parent concerns, if the circumstances demonstrate that the mutual intention of all the parties was to bind both the signatories and the non-signatory affiliates.
Read More

Tuesday, 25 November 2014


SEBI REFORMS | NEW INSIDER TRADING REGULATIONS

Securities and Exchange Board of India (``SEBI``) last week approved SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2014 (``New Regulations``). This update will briefly examine the revisions proposed by SEBI in its New Regulations.
Read More

Thursday, 6 November 2014


GOVERNMENT RELAXES FDI NORMS FOR CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT SECTOR | BOOST TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister of India on 29 October 2014 consented to amend the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy in construction sector i.e. Townships, Housing, Built-up infrastructure.
Read More

Saturday, 23 August 2014


SECTION 138 CASES FOR DISHONOUR OF CHEQUES | SUPREME COURT CLARIFIES ON THE JURISDICTION

A three judge bench of the Hon`ble Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) in its very recent judgment (Dashrath Case) has now held that all the criminal matters relating to dishonour of cheques under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 (Act) would only be entertained by the court which has the territorial jurisdiction on the location of the drawee bank or in simple words where the cheque was dishonoured. This judgement will have far reaching consequences for all the pending criminal matters and the new matters filed under Section 138 of the Act. This update endeavours to analyse the consequences of the Dashrath Case.
Read More

Friday, 27 June 2014


CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | COMPANIES ACT 2013

India`s new Companies Act 2013 (Companies Act) has introduced several new provisions which change the face of Indian corporate business. One of such new provisions is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The concept of CSR rests on the ideology of give and take. Companies take resources in the form of raw materials, human resources etc from the society. By performing the task of CSR activities, the companies are giving something back to the society.
Read More

Monday, 16 June 2014


RBI APPROVAL OVER M&A FOR NBFC

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently came out with a notification (New Notification) that will increase its regulatory oversight on the non-banking financial company (NBFC) sector. The RBI through the New Notification mandated the requirement of its prior written approval in cases of acquisition or transfer of control of NBFCs. This is not the first time the RBI has issued directions for its prior written permission on such takeovers of NBFCs. Back in September 2009, it had issued similar notification, albeit restricted to NBFCs accepting deposits. However, the New Notification proves to be a significant expansion in its regulatory regime.
Read More

Wednesday, 4 June 2014


NEW PROCESS TO PURCHASE STAMP PAPER IN MAHARASHTRA

Maharashtra Government has very recently revised the process of buying a stamp paper. As per the new process the buyers now need to provide complete details with respect to purchase of buying the stamp paper.
The existing procedure for buying the stamp paper was extremely simple with requirement of providing minimum information such as name and address of the person who would be executing the stamp document. If any legal entity require the stamp paper, the official/common seal of such entity was also required for obtaining stamp paper.
Read More

Wednesday, 28 May 2014


RBI SIMPLIFIES THE PROCEDURE FOR ECB FROM FOREIGN EQUITY HOLDERS

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) though its recent circular has simplified the process under the External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) guidelines and provided more flexibility to Indian companies for borrowing from its foreign equity holders (FEH).
ECBs from direct FEH under the existing ECB guidelines may be acquired under either the automatic or the approval routes, as the circumstances may warrant. If the ECB was to be acquired for general corporate purposes, then it had to be considered under the approval route. Now, however, companies belonging to manufacturing, infrastructure, hotels, hospitals and software sectors may obtain ECBs for general corporate purposes (including working capital financing) from direct equity holders under the automatic route. It is pertinent to note that this does not extend to indirect equity holders.
Read More

Wednesday, 19 March 2014


SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT | TENANT EVICTION PUBLIC PREMISES

Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in its recent judgment [Dr Suhas H Pophale v Oriental Insurance Company Limited and its Estate Officer] has changed the parameters of eviction of the tenant under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (“Act”).
BACKGROUND OF ACT: The Act was incorporated to facilitate easy eviction of unauthorized occupants from public premises and other incidental matters including removal of unauthorized construction, recovery of arrears of rent, etc. As per the Act, public premises means premises belonging to or taken on lease or requisitioned by or on behalf of (i) Central Government, (ii) Company in which the Central Government holds at least 51% paid-up share capital, (iii) wholly or partially subsidiary of the Central Government, (iv) any corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government, (v) universities, (vi) institutes of technology, (vii) major port trust, etc. (collectively referred to as “Public Authority”)
Read More

Saturday, 1 March 2014


SEBI | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REFORMS

SEBI has recently announced its proposal to amend the listing agreement to align it with the provisions of the newly enacted Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”) and also decided to make in certain policies and regulations to strengthen the corporate governance framework for listed companies.
Following are the key amendments to the Listing Agreement intimated by the SEBI which are proposed to be applicable to all listed companies with effect from 1 October 2014
Read More

Tuesday, 18 February 2014


FPI REGULATIONS NOTIFIED | SIGNIFICANT SHIFT FROM FII REGULATIONS

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2014 (“FPI Regulations”) recently published and thus repealed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Institutional Investors) Regulations, 1995 (“FII Regulations”). FPI Regulations have been drafted following various recommendations of the K.M. Chandrasekhar Committee (“Committee”). Please click here to see our update on the recommendations made by the Committee.
This legal update will highlight the significant changes that have been brought about by FPI Regulations from the erstwhile FII regime.
Read More

Monday, 20 January 2014


LEGALIZATION OF OPTIONS IN INDIA

It is common to incorporate ‘put’ / ‘call’ options; ‘right of first offer’ / ‘right of first refusal’ and tag / drag along rights (all of them collectively referred as “Options”) in the investment agreements. However, the issue of enforceability of Options has always been a challenge before an Indian court due to lack of clarity under the company law and the objections raised by the Indian regulators i.e. Reserve Bank of India and (“RBI”) and Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). Some of the recent changes seem to have brought clarity in the legal positions and Indian investment regime. Please see below our observations with regards to these recent changes.
Read More

Friday, 3 January 2014


SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACT NOTIFIED | EMPLOYERS TO GET INTO ACTION

After a period of 7 months of President’s assent, the Government has recently notified the effective date for The Sexual Harassmentof Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“Act”) as 9 December 2013. The Ministry has also notified Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 (“Rules”) which enunciate procedural aspect of the Act. The Act and the Rules cover provide a mechanism for women to lodge complaints against sexual harassment against them in workplace and at dwelling houses. The Act and Rules are collectively referred to as “Sexual Harassment Laws”.
Read More

Wednesday, 11 December 2013


REIT REGIME IN INDIA

The draft SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2013 (“REIT Regulations”) is yet another attempt of Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) to bring about the Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REIT”) regime in India. SEBI, in 2007, released the first draft of the REIT Regulations. Thereafter in 2008, SEBI introduced REITS via a new investment vehicle Real Estate Mutual Funds (“REMFs”) under the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996 which did not see much success due to various tax and other issues. This update is our endeavor to provide you with our analyses of the key provisions of the REIT Regulations and challenges in implementation thereof.
Read More

Monday, 14 October 2013


HIGHLIGHTS | COMPANIES ACT 2013

After a run of around 56 years, the (Indian) Companies Act, 1956 (1956 Act) is now in the process of being substituted by a new law.
The new Companies Bill 2012 (Bill) was approved by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India) on 18 December 2012 and by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India) on 9 August 2013. The Bill received presidential assent on 29 August 2013 to become law i.e. (Indian) Companies Act, 2013 (2013 Act). Recently, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified a list of provisions (around 98 Sections) of the 2013 Act that came into force with effect from 12 September 2013.
Read More

Sunday, 22 September 2013


SEBI | RULES FOR ANGEL INVESTORS

Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) very recently notified amendments (Amendment(s)) to the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 (“AIF Regulations”) to give effect to budget for FY 2013-14 on the angel investor pool. By way of the Amendment, a new sub-category has been created under Category I – Alternative Investment Funds (“AIF(s)”) called “Angel Funds” by inserting a separate Chapter III-A in the AIF Regulations. The key changes through the Amendments are as follows
Read More

Tuesday, 27 August 2013


ENFORCEABILITY OF OPTIONS

A call option (“Call Option”) grants a right to the option holder to buy shares, debentures or other securities (“Securities”) held by the Call Option provider to the option holder on the occurrence of certain events and on the basis of agreed pricing formula. The option provider has a binding obligation to sell his Securities to the option holder when the option holder exercises the Call Option.
Read More

Monday, 8 July 2013


SEBI NOTIFIES THE REGULATIONS ON NON-CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERENCE SHARES

Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) on 12 June 2013 notified SEBI (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares) Regulations, 2013 (“Regulations”) and bestowed the much needed clarity on the issuance and listing of the non-convertible redeemable preference shares (“NCRPS”). While before notification of these Regulations, SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations, 2008[1] and SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009[2] (“Pre-existing Regulations”) were in place to deal with issuance and listing of certain securities, the Pre-existing Regulations did not cover the issuance and listing of NCRPS. Notification of the Regulations therefore bridges this gap.
Read More

Monday, 1 July 2013


REAL ESTATE BILL – 2013

Press Information Bureau (“PIB”) has recently made a press release[1] (“Press Release”) stating that the Union Cabinet has approved the Real Estate (Regulations and Development) Bill, 2013 (“Bill”). A copy of the Bill is still not available for the public review. However, the Press Release summarizes the object, benefits and advantage of the bill.
Read More

No comments:

Post a Comment