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Amendments to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 for Debentures

 

The Finance Act, 2019[1] (Amendment) proposes to make some significant amendments to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (Act). The primary objective of the Amendment is to set up a zero-evasion centralised collection mechanism under which stamp duty is collected through one agency, at one place and on one instrument for securities market transactions.

It also seeks to standardise the stamp duty payable on issuance, sale and transfer of securities market instruments. It does so by removing multiple instances of stamp duty, waiving stamp duty on certain instruments, and removing the ability of the State Governments to determine rates or levy stamp duty in addition to the Act[2]. Continue Reading Decoding the Amendments to Indian Stamp Act, 1899, for Debentures – Part I

National Green Tribunanal Act and Real Estate

 

The first part of this two-part blog discussed the facts that led to the filing of appeals before the Supreme Court challenging the NGT’s judgment dated May 4, 2016 and certain key issues discussed by the Supreme Court in its Judgment disposing of these appeals. In this piece, the second part of the two-part blog, we discuss other significant issues that have been dealt with in the Judgment and analyse the findings to deduce the reasoning employed by the Supreme Court in reaching its decision. Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy? – Part 2

Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy?

 

Introduction

The Hon’ble National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (NGT), vide the judgment dated May 4, 2016 in the Original Application No. 222 of 2014 (Original Application), passed certain orders, which had wide scale impact on the real estate developers in the city of Bengaluru. The NGT directed that the buffer zones maintained around lakes and rajakaluves (drains) were to be increased substantially more than provided under the zoning regulations in the Revised Master Plan 2015 (RMP 2015). The RMP 2015 provided for buffer zones of 30 meters from the centre of the lake, for primary rajakaluves it was 50 meters from the centre of the rajakaluve, for secondary rajakaluves, it was fixed at 25 meters and for tertiary rajakaluve it was 15 meters. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) has recently passed a judgment in Civil Appeal No. 5016 of 2016 and other connected appeals on March 5, 2019 (Judgment). These appeals were filed challenging the NGT’s judgment dated May 4, 2016.

In this first part of a two-part blog, we discuss the facts that led to filing of the present appeals before the Supreme Court and a couple of key issues discussed in the Judgment. Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy? – Part 1

Surrogacy Bill and ART Bill in India

India is currently facing a declining fertility rate and a changing social structure, with late marriages and single parenthood becoming more common. In light of this, does the proposed ART Bill and Surrogacy Bill restrict or enhance the reproductive choices available to Indian citizens?

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), as commonly understood, comprises procedures such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), intra-uterine insemination (IUI), oocyte and sperm donation, cryopreservation and includes surrogacy as well. Social stigma of being childless and lengthy adoption processes have increased the demand for ART in India. It is thus not surprising that the ART industry is expected to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 10%.

No legislation currently regulates ART in India. In 2002, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) laid out guidelines for surrogacy. Further, in 2005, the ICMR issued the ‘National Guidelines for Accreditation, Supervision and Regulation of ART Clinics in India’ (ICMR Guidelines), which inter alia, prescribed the conditions that ART clinics need to comply with. Both the above initiatives did not have any legislative backing. Thereafter, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill (ART Bill) was first proposed in 2008, with the final version being brought out in 2017. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 (Surrogacy Bill) was passed by the Lok Sabha in December, 2018, and is currently pending Rajya Sabha approval.  Continue Reading Surrogacy Bill and ART Bill: Boon or Bane?

Part I - Electric Vehicles: Disrupting the Automotive Ecosystem

The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with an increasing demand for energy. Given that historically India has relied on pollutant hydrocarbons to run its power plants and vehicles, there has been an increasing focus on setting ambitious ‘green’ targets, especially in light of the alarming levels of pollution in India. The Government of India (GoI) has actively encouraged the adoption of electric vehicles with the idea of shifting the production of new automotive vehicles from internal combustion engine models to electric vehicles by 2030. Continue Reading Part I – Electric Vehicles: Disrupting the Automotive Ecosystem

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April 2019 – Dawn of a New Era in Indian Corporate Governance?

2018 was an eventful year for the corporate governance regulatory framework in India. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) not only approved a host of recommendations made by the Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance (Kotak Committee), but also gave these recommendations the required regulatory impetus by notifying the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018.

Come April 1, 2019, a slew of these amendments (Amendments) will come into effect and all listed entities will be required to ensure their readiness in terms of implementation and compliance. Broadly, the Amendments have four intended targets: the board of directors, the listed company, the investors and the promoters.

Continue Reading April 2019 – Dawn of a New Era in Indian Corporate Governance?

City Gas Distribution Bidding - Oil and Gas Laws

In part one of this two-part blog series, we looked at the challenges and new approaches that are being devised to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy market, including some of the challenges faced in effectively implementing the “Authorising Entities to Lay, Build, Operate or Expand City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks – Amendment Regulations, 2018” (2018 Amendment Regulations).

In this piece, the second part of this two-part blog, we look into how the 2018 Amendment regulations will work in practice, to provide a balance between expansion of the natural gas industry and consumer interest – while also supporting the development of the right infrastructure to ensure the smooth supply of gas. Continue Reading City Gas Distribution: Creating Demand for India’s Energy Future – The Balancing Act

City Gas Distribution bidding - CNG

Just as the bidding closed on the 10th Round of the City Gas Distribution (CGD)[1], fundamental changes have been made to the bidding criterion to create a regime that strikes a balance between the for-profit enterprises, and public interest and accountability.

In this first part of a two-part blog series, we assess these changes and the challenges faced in meeting targets to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy market. Continue Reading City Gas Distribution: Creating Demand for India’s Energy Future – Changes to Support the Shift to a Gas Economy

Banning of Unregulated Schemes Ordinance, 2019

In the aftermath of the Saradha scam, the Standing Committee of Finance (Committee) in its 21st report dated September 21, 2015 suggested the introduction of a comprehensive regulatory framework governing all entities engaged in activities involving acceptance of deposits from the public. While making this recommendation, the Committee observed that certain entities were engaged in financial as well as non-financial activities and therefore, it was difficult to identify the appropriate regulator for such entities. Such entities fall under the jurisdiction of various regulatory bodies and in spite of overlapping regulations, several such entities were not regulated by any regulator.

In view of the suggestions of the Committee, a high level Inter-Ministerial Group (Group) was formulated for identifying gaps in the existing regulatory framework. The Group suggested the enactment of a comprehensive central act to criminalise the solicitation, promotion, acceptance and/or operation of ‘unregulated deposit schemes’. In line with the recommendations of the Committee and the Group, the Banning of Unregulated Schemes Ordinance, 2019 (Ordinance) was promulgated on February 21, 2019. Continue Reading The Banning of Unregulated Schemes Ordinance, 2019

Sashidhar v. Indian Overseas Bank and Ors. – Commercial Wisdom Reigns Supreme

The Supreme Court’s decision in K. Sashidhar v. Indian Overseas Bank and Ors.[1]addressed a critical issue in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) – i.e. the scope of judicial scrutiny over a commercial decision taken by the committee of creditors (“CoC”) to approve or reject a resolution plan. Continue Reading Sashidhar v. Indian Overseas Bank and Ors. – Commercial Wisdom Reigns Supreme