vLex India

In the news roundup, David Kris digs into rumors that Chinese malware attacks may have caused a blackout in India at a time when military conflict was flaring on the two nation’s Himalayan This leads us to Russia’s targeting of the US grid and to uneasy speculation on how well our regulatory regime is adapted to preventing successful grid attacks. The Biden administration is starting... (See Article)

INTRODUCTION: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in Ireo Grace Realtech Pvt. Ltd. v. Abhishek Khanna and Ors.[1], has inter alia held that developers cannot compel apartment buyers to be bound by one-sided contractual terms. Finding such one-sided agreements oppressive, the Court has held that the same would constitute an unfair trade practice under... (See Article)

Three studies have been published describing water and foodborne outbreaks in India and the Philippines. The articles, in a supplement of the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, involve Salmonella, Hepatitis A and suspected anthrax. They are accepted conference abstracts that were to be presented at the International Congress on Infectious Diseases in September 2020 in... (See Article)

New York Times reports that in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has postponed offering a widely criticized exam on cows for which 500,000 people had already registered: Critics said the curriculum, devised by the National Cow Commission set up by Mr. Modi’s government, was an especially bold move by his ruling party to... (See Article)

  The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (‘SFIO’) is an organisation established under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (‘MCA’) – for investigation and prosecution of white-collar crimes. The SFIO was constituted in July 2003 following the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee. In 2002, the Naresh Chandra Committee had recommended setting up a... (See Article)

Introduction Charitable organisations, irrespective of the scale of their activities, seek and accept donations in various forms. Predictably, payment and receipt of donations, susceptible as they may be to misuse, are subject to regulation in India, and there are multiple legal complexities that need to be navigated through in connection with these. In this article,... (See Article)

 Introduction Recently, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Bhaven Construction v. Executive Engineer Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. and Anr[1] has observed that the High Courts’ power of interference under Articles 226[2] and 227[3] of the Constitution of India (“Constitution”), in the context of arbitral proceedings, may be exercised in ‘exceptional rarity’. Clarifying... (See Article)

The escalating debate over corporate purpose is not confined to developed economies in the West. Rapidly developing economies in nations like India are similarly grappling with how to define and develop a legal framework around corporate purpose. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a re-examination of corporate purpose have been at the centerpiece of discussions about... (See Article)

Introduction In the backdrop of recent stress in the financial sector, especially in the speciality finance (i.e. NBFC) space, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) has sought to address potential systemic risks by issuing a discussion paper on ‘Revised Regulatory Framework for NBFCs – A Scale-Based Approach’ (“Discussion Paper”) on January 22, 2021. The apex... (See Article)

On January 27, 2021, Daikin America, Inc. (“Petitioner”), filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on granular polytetrafluoroethylene resin from India and Russia. SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION The product covered by this investigation is granular polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) resin. PTFE is covered by the scope of this investigation whether filled or unfilled,... (See Article)

 India’s twin achievement of receiving the highest-ever FDI[1] and touching record highs at the bourses[2] occurred in the Financial Year 2020-2021. While the former came about in the first five months of the fiscal year (i.e. during the COVID-19 lockdown), the latter took place near the end of the calendar year 2020. The year 2020... (See Article)

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with its consultative paper on “promoter reclassification/ promoter group entities and disclosure of the promoter group entities in the shareholding pattern”[1] to seek public comments on November 23, 2020. The topic of promoter reclassification has been a talking point since 2015, wherein the power to... (See Article)

On December 16, 2020, the Committee of Experts within India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a revised report on the Non-Personal Data Governance Framework for India. This post details the key takeaways from the revised committee report. (See Article)

The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”), through a press release issued on January 13, 2021, has set up a working group on digital lending (“WG”), to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector as well as by unregulated players so that an appropriate regulatory approach can be put in place.... (See Article)

The USDA’s Organic Program (NOP) is changing its approach to oversight of imports from India.  The USDA is ending its recognition agreement that had allowed Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority accredited certifiers to provide USDA organic certification in India. The APEDA is an apex body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry... (See Article)

A plan to transform the food environment in India that includes improving food safety and hygiene has been named as a winner of an international award. Eat Right India was one of 10 programs recognized by the Rockefeller Foundation for plans to tackle food-related problems by 2050. The initiative was launched in mid-2018 and includes... (See Article)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (UST) has issued determinations in the investigations of digital services taxes (DSTs) adopted or considered by India, Italy, and Turkey, finding that “each of the DSTs discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation, and burden {sic} or restricts U.S. commerce.”  Notably, USTR is... (See Article)

We asked our member firms around the globe to provide some insight on employer and employee rights when it comes to requiring the COVID-19 vaccine to return to work. Bhuvana Veeraragavan of AZB & Partners shares her view from India. (See Article)

Issue number #6-2 (October 2020) of publication Unnes Law Journal is now available

Two important arbitral jurisdictions in Asia have recently amended their arbitration laws. On November 4, 2020, the President of India passed an ordinance amending the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (the Indian Act), which entered into force with immediate effect. On December 1, 2020, amendments to the International Arbitration Act (the Singapore Act) entered into force. (See Article)

SEBI has been continuously streamlining the regulatory architecture governing schemes of arrangements under Sections 230-232 of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Companies Act”) and Regulations 11, 37 and 94 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR”) involving listed companies with the introduction of the SEBI Circular dated... (See Article)

India is motivated towards stronger energy transition actions beyond its current climate change initiatives, aggressive renewable energy, electric vehicle (EV) Infrastructure buildout; and energy diplomacy initiatives. The imperative to de-carbonise the Indian economy is drawn from the poor air quality in Indian cities, high fossil fuel import bill and concerns about India’s energy security. Despite national efforts with climate change actions, India’s fossil fuel consumption, of both oil and gas, as well as that of coal, is expected to continue to rise to meet the economy’s voracious appetite for energy in any form. Electric vehicles, battery technology and renewable energy growth seemed to (See Article)

Listen HERE or stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Amazon Music, Stitcher, or Soundcloud! The large-scale shift to telework brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting businesses around the world to explore new avenues to engage with clients and friends. Harris Bricken is no exception, and we are happy to provide this podcast series: Global Law and Business, hosted by international... (See Article)

Introduction: Recognising that an arbitration agreement between parties is an agreement independent of the substantive contract, the Delhi High Court in Dholi Spintex Pvt. Ltd. v. Louis Dreyfus Company India Pvt. Ltd.[1] has held that two Indian parties can choose a foreign law as the law governing the arbitration between them. The Court has also... (See Article)

Can allottees approach Consumer Forum under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986[1] (the “CP Act”), despite the remedies available under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (the “RERA”), if they don’t want to take a recourse under the latter? This question was long debated and the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) finally answered... (See Article)

Introduction: In our blog post titled “Maintenance and Women[1]”, we had inter alia discussed various statutory provisions under which women in India can claim maintenance. This blog post is in furtherance to the said post. Recognising the dire need to have uniformity, consistency, procedural fairness and time efficiency in disposal of maintenance applications, the Supreme... (See Article)

A recent award passed by an Emergency Arbitrator at the instance of Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings in relation to Reliance Retail Ventures Limited’s (RRVL) ongoing acquisition of Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing arm, has once again brought into sharp focus a gap in India’s aspirations to improve Ease of Doing Business in the... (See Article)

On November 09, 2020, the President of India issued a notification under Article 77(3) of the Constitution amending the Govt of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, according to which the Information & Broadcasting  Ministry (“I&B Ministry”) will now have the power to regulate and formulate policies, issue orders, instructions, notifications etc., pertaining to online... (See Article)

On November 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) announced the initiation of antidumping (“AD”) and countervailing duty (“CVD”) investigations on Utility Scale Wind Towers from India, Malaysia, and Spain (Spain is AD only). The petitioners in this case are the Wind Tower Trade Coalition. See our previous post summarizing the petition for details... (See Article)

India has one of the most detailed set of laws and regulations governing disclosures and approvals of related party transactions (RPT) regulating both listed and unlisted companies. The provisions of Section 188 of the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act) are applicable if: a company enters into a transaction with a ‘related party’ as defined under... (See Article)