Group Insolvency Norms

The recognition of a company’s separate juristic personality by the UK’s House of Lords in its landmark ruling in Salomon v. Salomon A Company Ltd.,[1] remains the basis for modern corporate law.[2] The ruling in effect drew a corporate veil around the legal personality of the company thereby establishing the separate legal identity of a corporate.

While India also follows the separate juristic personality of corporates as a general principle, exceptions have been incorporated over the years by way of legislative action[3] and juridical pronouncements.[4] In the context of insolvency law, the corporate veil is typically lifted in instances where a group company could be held liable for the debts of its associate and subsidiary companies, or if a group of companies functioned as a collective. Continue Reading Staggered Lifting of the Corporate Veil: A Case for Group Insolvency Norms

Depository Receipts - SEBI Framework SMM

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a framework for issuance of depository receipts (DRs) by companies listed or to be listed in India ( DR Framework), by its circular dated October 10, 2019.

In the early years of liberalisation and up to the time SEBI permitted qualified institutions placement (QIPs) in 2006, DR issuances formed a significant and important part of foreign investment into the Indian equity markets. However, in the past five years, there have been very few DR issuances, for a variety of reasons including due to regulatory uncertainty around operational guidelines for DRs and concerns in relation to compliance with rules under the anti-money laundering legislation. Continue Reading SEBI Introduces Framework for Issuance of Depository Receipts

Revised norms for foreign portfolio investors SEBI

The norms surrounding foreign portfolio investors have undergone continuous changes and tweaks since liberalisation. The framework introduced by Central Government was first consolidated and expanded upon by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the SEBI (Foreign Institutional Investors) Regulations, 1995 (1995 Regulations).

A little under a decade later, in 2014, SEBI took steps to consolidate the categories of investors previously accessing Indian capital markets – i.e., foreign institutional investors, sub-accounts and qualified foreign investors – into a single class known as ‘foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIs). SEBI also delegated the responsibility of registering such FPIs to designated depository participants (DDPs). Multiple questions arising out of the new regime were subsequently answered by SEBI in a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs), updated from time to time. The 2014 Regulations also incorporated concepts such as opaque structures and a scope of investor group, which did not find a mention in the 1995 Regulations but were introduced through notifications and instructions from SEBI.

Five years later, SEBI has issued revised norms for FPIs in terms of the SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2019 (2019 Regulations) with a number of changes (as suggested by the committee headed by Mr. HR Khan), some to concepts dating back to the regime under the 1995 Regulations. The 2019 Regulations also consolidate the extensive guidance and requirements prescribed by SEBI by way of amendments to the 2014 Regulations as well as circulars and FAQs issued thereunder.

This post discusses some of the key aspects of the 2019 Regulations. Continue Reading Revised Norms for FPIs: New Wine in a New Bottle

Insider Trading Hotline SEBI - Informant Mechanism

In our previous blog post, dated June 12, 2019, we discussed the Securities Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) efforts to institutionalise an informant mechanism for insider trading, through its discussion paper released in June 2019 (Discussion Paper).

The regulator has now formalised this into law through a recent amendment to the Insider Trading Regulations, which came after a SEBI board meeting approved the informant mechanism scheme on August 21 of last month. Interestingly, while the publicly available agenda of the SEBI board meeting states that it had received comments from certain entities on the Discussion Paper, these comments are not publicly available and are stated to have been excised for reasons of confidentiality. Continue Reading SEBI launches a new hotline: Introduction of the Informant Mechanism into the Insider Trading Regulations

Arbitrator Fees in India

The Law Commission of India, in its 246th report, noted that one of the problems associated with arbitration in India (especially ad hoc arbitrations) is the high quantum of fees charged by arbitrators.[1] The Report went so far as to call the fees “arbitrary, unilateral and disproportionate”. The Commission recommended the adoption of a model schedule of fees for Courts to consider while framing rules for fixing of the fees of arbitrators appointed in accordance with Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act). The Commission restricted its suggestions to ad hoc domestic arbitrations, noting that different standards may apply in institutional arbitrations and in international commercial arbitrations (where the Commission recommended greater deference to party autonomy). Continue Reading Arbitrator Fees in India: In a Fix?

Over the Counter drugs Regulations in India

Over The Counter (OTC) drugs are drugs that can be sold by pharmacists without a prescription from a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP). Many drugs are sold over the counter without prescription, but the regulatory regime is grey in this regard, primarily because the term OTC has not been expressly defined under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 (D&C Act) and the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 (D&C Rules). Regulatory ambiguity is set to change, however, as the Central Government is now actively considering regulating the sale and distribution of OTC drugs[1].

Continue Reading Over The Counter Drugs – Regulatory Clarity on the Horizon

Securities Law Enforcement - Calibrating the Discipline of Penalty Imposition

Equipped with broad statutory powers, the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been hard at work for the past 30 years, shouldering the herculean task of managing the Indian securities market, through both regulation and enforcement. Naturally, to help SEBI respond to and deal with evolving challenges, its powers, specifically those under the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SCRA) and the SEBI Act, 1992 (SEBI Act), have been continuously at play, allowing it to mete out a wide range of penalties, both monetary and substantive. SEBI’s exercise of such powers, in its capacity as a quasi-judicial authority, has increasingly become a subject-matter of appellate interest, on questions of both jurisdictional remit and proportionality of penal action. Continue Reading Securities Law Enforcement: Calibrating the Discipline of Penalty Imposition

Decriminalising Companies Act Offences

Via the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019, recommendations of the Committee to Review Offences under the Companies Act, 2013 (Committee) to re-categorise 16 out of 81 compoundable offences under the Companies Act, 2013 (Act) as civil liabilities were accepted. In a move to further relax the provisions, the Government has constituted a Company Law Committee to review aspects of criminalization in the remaining compoundable and non-compoundable offences under the Act.[1] Continue Reading Decriminalising Companies Act Offences – Striking a Balance Between Ease of Doing Business and Corporate Governance

  Taxation of REITs in India

 

*An eight-part series covering the commercial and legal considerations of REIT listings in India. Click here to read Part III.

The Government started putting in place a framework for taxation of business trusts even before the regulations governing Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) were notified by the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This was not without reason – progressive regulations and tax reforms have influenced the progress of REITs globally, with REIT markets witnessing sudden growth spurts in countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong almost immediately following favourable tax amendments.

Closer home, five years and multiple amendments later, the Indian tax regime for REITs is a complex proposition and comes with a wishlist from nearly all stakeholders involved in a typical REIT. With Indian real estate likely to provide investment opportunity worth up to USD 77 bn through REIT-eligible commercial office and retail properties across India’s top seven cities by 2020[1], there can be no better time to look at some of the key issues. Continue Reading Part IV – Taxation of REITs in India

Finance Act 2019 - Prevention of Money Laundering Act Amendment

The Finance Act, 2019 (the 2019 Act) is the Central Government’s endeavour to tighten the gaps around the existing provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Amidst the growing number of financial crimes and high-profile cases, the 2019 Act attempts to make the existing provisions stricter and better armoured to detect suspicious transactions. Additionally, the Act, along with the other amendments, has a greater aim of targeting money laundering and terrorist financing. The 2019 Act attempts to remove the ambiguity in the existing provisions by amending eight clauses of the PMLA. Continue Reading PMLA Amendment 2019 – Plugging the Loopholes