Late Claims In Liquidation: Analysing The Judicial Divergence

Among myriad litigations faced by a liquidator during the liquidation process of a corporate debtor, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code), is a genre of challenges against the rejection of claims of creditors by the liquidator. Majority of these complain of rejection of claim on account of delay in their submission with the liquidator, without verification on merits. Since, a liquidator is not empowered to verify a claim submitted beyond thirty (30) days from the liquidation...

Deadline: A Crucial Lesson To Reducing Pending Case Load

Last year a report revealed NCLT courts' time to resolution at 643 days (nearly 21 months) as opposed to the 270-day deadline (9 months). By definition, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Courts are expected to fast-track a resolution process therefore providing a speedier remedy to an insolvency process. Unfortunately, the trend in the NCLT is not very different than India's traditional courtrooms where pending case-loads has invited sharp criticism.According to India's national judicial data grid, 4.46...

Navigating Compliances On Significant Beneficial Ownership By Limited Liability Partnerships

Ministry of Corporate Affairs ('MCA') vide notification dated October 27, 2023 introduced the Limited Liability Amended Partnership (Third Amendment) Rules, 2023 (“LLP Amendment Rules, 2023”) modifying the existing Limited Liability Partnership Rules, 2009 to strengthen the mechanism for identifying individuals having beneficial interest in LLPs. Under the LLP Amendment Rules, 2023 every LLP is responsible to maintain the register of partners in Form 4A, with particulars such as the personal...

Indian Arbitration System On Path To Global Recognition And Economic Growth

Indian Arbitration System On Path To Global Recognition And Economic GrowthLast year, the former Chief Justice Of India, NV Ramana, highlighted the significance of a robust arbitration system to India's economy. According to him, such a system could be a secret ingredient to getting an investor-friendly tag. More recently, Claudia Salomon, President of the International Court of Arbitration, emphasized on the evolving arbitration landscape and how it facilitated better business. India's...

Directors, Deadlocks And Disqualifications Under The Companies Act, 2013

Directors, Deadlocks And Disqualifications Under The Companies Act, 2013Imagine a world where companies possess their own unique identities, are capable of acquiring property, taking legal actions, and existing indefinitely regardless of the people working within them. Welcome to the fascinating world of corporate law, where companies are conferred with a separate legal personality. The members of a company may come and go, but the company goes on forever until it is wound up or dissolved. Being...

Compulsory Dematerialization Of Securities – Impact On Business Environment

On October 27, 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) (“PAS”) Second Amendment Rules, 2023, amending the Companies (PAS) Rules, 2014. These amended provisions were officially enforced on the same date i.e., October 27, 2023.The revised PAS Rules now require all private companies, except for small companies to adhere to specified timelines. These companies must issue securities exclusively in dematerialized form; andfacilitate the...

Supreme Court Rules On Binding Non-Signatories To Arbitration Proceedings: Paving Way For Consolidation And Composite Reference

It is not uncommon in today's commercial landscape for disputes to arise from multiple contracts executed between different parties forming part of the same commercial transaction for the completion of a common project.On 06.12.2023, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India passed its judgment in the case of Cox & Kings Ltd. vs. SAP India Pvt. Ltd[1]. The Supreme Court, in this landmark judgment, decided the reference made to them in Cox and Kings Ltd. vs. Sap India Pvt. Ltd.,[2]...

Stamped Out Or Not: Finality To The Issue Of Unstamped Arbitration Agreement

On December 13, 2023 a seven judge bench of the Supreme Court in In Re: Interplay between Arbitration Agreements under the Arbitration And Conciliation Act, 1996 and the Indian Stamp Act, 1899[1], unanimously ruled on the issue surrounding the admissibility of unstamped or insufficiently stamped instrument in evidence, which arose in the context of three statues - the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (“Arbitration Act”), the Indian Stamp Act 1899 (“Stamp Act”), and the Indian Contract Act...

Section 168A Of CGST Act, 2017 – Invokable Or Not?

1. A large number of Show Cause Notices (SCN) have been issued under Section 73 of the Central/State Goods And Services Tax Act, 2017 (“CGST”/”SGST”) for the Financial Year 2017-18 in the month of September 2023.2. In this regard, the Department is apparently relying upon Notification No. 9/2023 Central Tax dated 31.03.2023, issued by the Central Government, in terms of Section 168A of the CGST Act, under which the time limit specified under Section 73(10) for issuance of Order under...

Decoding ESG For Start-ups

What is ESG? ESG are a set of standards that are used to evaluate an organization’s non-financial performance. The standards rest on three pillars, ‘E’ for Environmental, ‘S’ for Social and ‘G’ for Governance. According to the 2021-22 Economic Survey, India has the third largest startup ecosystem (over 100,000 startups) in the world following after US and China. However, only 7% of startups have a net zero (emission of greenhouse gases being balanced by removal) plan in place....

Concurrent Tax Investigations: A Legal Analysis Of Parallel Proceedings In GST Framework

India has adopted the dual GST model because of its unique federal nature. Under this model, tax is levied concurrently by the Centre as well as the States on a common base, i.e. supply of goods or services, or both. GST to be levied by the Centre is called Central GST (Central tax / CGST) and that levied by the States/Union Territories is called State GST (State Tax/SGST)/ UTGST (Union Territory Tax).In the intricate tapestry of India's GST framework, the emergence of concurrent tax...

“FULL INPUT TAX CREDIT” Under The Second Proviso To Rule 28 Of The Central Goods & Services Tax Rules, 2017 – An Unachievable Farce?

An issue that often riddles taxpayers under the GST regime is the value to be adopted for the purposes of discharging applicable GST on supplies of goods and/or services between related parties or distinct persons, even when made without consideration, as mandated in terms of Section 7(1)(c) of the Central Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act’) read with Entry 2 of Schedule I to the CGST Act.Section 15 of the CGST Act provides that the price actually paid or payable for the supply shall...