Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (LexBlog India)

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore (“Tribunal”), recently in Google Ireland Ltd. v. DCIT[1] allowed an appeal by Google Ireland Ltd (“Google Ireland”) and held that the payments received from Google India Pvt Ltd (“Google India”) for granting marketing & distribution rights of Google AdWords program were not in the nature of “royalty” or fee...

The following Q&A was first published in the Legal 500 and Legal Business Magazine on 8th March, 2024. The same was written by our Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. The online version of the Q&A can be found here. How does estate planning differ in India compared to other countries, especially in light of...

The following article was first published in the Mint newspaper on 28th February, 2024. The same was written by our Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, who frequently publish their comments and opinions in the Mint. The online version of the article can be found here. I have three sons, all of whom are married...

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and the rules framed thereunder regulate ‘foreign contribution’. This post examines how heightened policing calls for stringent compliance by entities receiving ‘foreign contribution’. Evolving regulatory framework for ‘foreign contributions’ The first law to regulate ‘foreign contributions’ in India, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 197

Background The Income-tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”) contains various machinery provisions which enable tax authorities to recover tax dues from taxpayers. When payments are made to non-residents that are chargeable to tax under the IT Act, payers (both resident and non-resident) are obligated to withhold tax at applicable rates prior to remittance of funds. Typically,...

The ITAT recently dismissed an appeal and slammed Cognizant India Private Limited (“Cognizant India”) for what it perceived as  using a colorable device to evade taxes during its INR 190 billion share buyback exercise. Cognizant (Mauritius) Limited (“Cognizant Mauritius”) and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporations USA (“Cognizant USA”) held around 76% and 22% stake in Cognizant...

Despite India being the third[1] largest domestic aviation market in the world, a majority of the aircrafts in the country (more than 70% approximately) are procured through lease arrangements, with most of them being provided by overseas lessors. Airline companies do not have the financial wherewithal to purchase aircrafts and hence, are forced to take...

Context  Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) has remained a buzzword for multinationals, policy makers, consumers and other stakeholders alike. While every country has a CSR regime, the Indian CSR regime is unique due to its distinctive departure from the voluntary nature, which is one of the core aspects of a CSR framework. India is the only...

The Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has been actively updating the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 (“AIF Regulations”) to strengthen the governance mechanism of alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and bring in more transparency and accountability for market participants. The recent updates seem to be aimed at investor protection and ensuring compliance with the.

“I’m not saying I’d make a better CEO. That’s unsaid.” – Connor Roy At the time of publication, we are just a few days away from the release of the final season of HBO’s highly acclaimed family business drama, Succession. For many viewers in India, the show’s portrayal of the perils and tribulations of running...

Fund structures are gaining popularity among wealthy individuals in India as optimum structures to help with wealth planning, investments, and tax management. Family offices are viewing GIFT City, India’s first international financial services centre (“IFSC”), for the purpose of facilitating global investments in a structured manner.  The IFSC funds regime envisages a ‘Family Investment Fund’...

The following article was first published in the Mint newspaper on 17th January, 2023. The same was written by our Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, who frequently publish their comments and opinions in the Mint. The online version of the article can be found here. ‘Should I write a will or form a trust...

English language and technical proficiency, coupled with the highly skilled workforce that India has to offer, has made the country a darling of most multinational companies (MNCs). For a while now, these MNCs have been outsourcing their routine as well as technical and complex business processes to their subsidiaries or third-party service providers in low-cost...

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (“SC”) delivered two landmark decisions dealing with the conditions and entitlement of charitable institutions to claim exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”), recently. While Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority,[1] (“AUDA”) dealt with the provisions and conditions of a charitable institution engaged in the activity of advancing an...

In April 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a directive (SEBI Directive) to the Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI) and some of its members on ways in which IPO bound companies could seek exemptions in relation to ‘promoter group’ disclosures in IPO offer documents. In addition to introducing a...

India witnessed tax revolution in 2017 when Goods and Services Tax (“GST“) was implemented to subsume existing indirect taxes on production, provision of services, sale of goods, entry, etc. The intent clearly has been to provide seamless flow of credit and avoid multiple levies on same transaction. Unfortunately, due to Integrated GST (“IGST“) payable on...

In a recent decision of Union of India vs. Ashish Agarwal[1], the Supreme Court (“SC”) effectively overturned several High Court decisions which had quashed reassessment notices issued under Section 148 (as it existed prior to the amendments introduced through the Finance Act, 2021). The decision has a significant impact for pending reassessments, notices for which...

India’s diverse social fabric needs no introduction. In a developing country, ‘constructive’ philanthropy designed to cater to the fast-growing needs is particularly important. In a country with massive population such as ours, it’s often difficult for the government machinery to engineer a trickle down of every social welfare scheme. This is where Non-governmental organisations or...

The following article was first published in the Mint newspaper on 23rd April, 2022. The same was written by our Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, who frequently publish their comments and opinions in the Mint. The online version of the article can be found here. I have a query regarding a gift deed....

In a recent decision involving Canon India, the Hon’ble Supreme Court (“SC”) had adjudicated about the authority of the officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (“DRI”) to issue a show cause notice (“SCN”) under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 (“Customs Act”) for the recovery of short payment of customs duty.[1] The Hon’ble SC...

The Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas shares their comments and opinions in an article, which was published by the Outlook Money on 1st April, 2022 and the online edition of the same can be found here. Intestate succession planning laws in India are unfavourable for women. So, women must use the tools available...

  “Essentially the idea was to withdraw from a place that has four walls. You do not want to live in four walls, because four walls create a false sense of immortality. If you are already in a box, it gives you a coffin-like feeling. When you live in a coffin, you think you are...

The Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), in its board meeting dated February 15, 2022, announced the decision to appoint separate Chairperson/ Chairman and Managing Director in the top 500 listed companies as voluntary. This decision comes ahead of the April 01, 2022, deadline, to mandatorily split the roles of Chairperson and Managing Directors (“MD”)/...

The Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas shares their comments and opinions in an article in the following Q&A which was published by the Mint Newspaper on 16th February, 2022 and the online edition of the same can be found here. Is mutation of property possible through unregistered Will? — Name withheld on request...

Background The recent judgment of the Supreme Court (“SC”) in Devas Multimedia Private Limited v. Antrix Corporation Limited[1] (“the Antrix case”) has many interesting facets. It brings to light some interesting questions of law on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and the Bilateral Investment Treaties when the claimant company (Decree holder) is ordered to...

Background In order to provide for an alternative and efficient dispute resolution mechanism for securities law violations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) introduced the consent mechanism through a circular in 2007[1] (which was partially modified in 2012)[2]. This was subsequently codified through the SEBI (Settlement of Administrative and Civil Proceedings) Regulations, 2014

The Private Client team at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas shares their comments and opinions in an article in the  following Q&A which was published by the Mint Newspaper on 17th January, 2022 and the online edition of the same can be found here. My sister is an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India). Our father passed away...

In recent years, in line with global trends, India’s growth has been fuelled by technology and platform economy, with physical moving towards digital and ‘phygital’. The financial services sector, particularly payments, lending, investing, and banking services, is pivoting towards digital and App-based delivery models, hence rise of ‘Fintechs’, defined by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) as ‘te

The end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 has come bearing gifts for the financial technology (“Fintech”) sector particularly for the lending space. The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) had amended the Credit Information Companies Regulations, 2006 (“Regulations”) on November 10, 2021 vide the Credit Information Companies (Amendment) Regulations, 2021  (“Amendment”)[1] – the first...

The year 2021 saw 81 tender offers aggregating to INR 43,602 crore for acquisition of shares of publicly traded companies in India under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (Takeover Regulations)[1]. This is higher in terms of both value and number when compared to the pandemic-hit...