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Foreign investment in India is regulated by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and foreign investors have a strict onus of complying with India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), and its rules and regulations. Any breach of the FEMA rules and regulations can result in penalties being levied against…

On June 5, 2020, the Indian government promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (the “Ordinance”). The Ordinance has been promulgated as a part of the economic package announced by India’s Finance Minister last month. The Ordinance indefinitely bars the initiation of insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”),…

Distress Currently, the one word that best describes the situation of many Indian companies and businesses is “distress”. The two-plus months of a fairly stringent lockdown in most major Indian metros, including Mumbai (which contributes 6% of India’s GDP), has badly impacted several businesses. The measured relaxation of the lockdown feels like the aftermath of…

India is the fifth-largest economy in the world with a workforce of 400 million. Several companies across the world have wholly-owned subsidiaries in India, mainly in sectors like IT and IT-enabled services, financial services, consulting, insurance and healthcare. A large number of multinational companies depend on their Indian subsidiaries and group companies for back-office support….

In the recent case of the UAE Exchange Centre, India’s Supreme Court (SC) highlighted the principles surrounding the taxability of foreign entities having a liaison office or a place of business in India. It should not be presumed that a liaison office will not constitute a permanent establishment in India merely because the Reserve Bank…

On May 1, 2020, the Indian government further extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown until May 17, 2020. The third phase of the lockdown is based on demarcation of districts into three (3) zones and reasonably well-defined exemptions for each zone under the revised guidelines (the “Revised Guidelines”) issued yesterday. The Revised Guidelines will be effective…

On April 17, 2020, India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade issued a press note amending the foreign direct investment (FDI) rules applicable to investments from countries having a land border with India. Following this, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification in the official gazette on April 22, 2020 (Notification) to amend…

On April 7, 2020, the Rajasthan High Court (HC) quashed a complaint registered against Jack Dorsey, head of the social media networking site “Twitter” and Anna M. M. Vetticad (Anna), a journalist and film critic, for hurting the feelings and religious sentiments of Brahmins in India. This case once again raises the fine line between…

On March 24, 2020, in order to prevent the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Indian government imposed a mandatory countrywide lockdown of all offices and establishments until April 14, 2020. Only essential services providers were allowed to function, and detailed guidelines were issued by both, the Central (Federal) and State governments, on who…

In September 2019, with a view to easing the regime for investments by foreign portfolio investors (“FPIs”), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (the “SEBI”) notified the SEBI (FPI) Regulations, 2019, which replaced the erstwhile SEBI (FPI) Regulations, 2014. The new regulations categorized FPIs into two different groups namely, Category I and Category II…