India's tryst with corporate governance is not new, yet not ideal. When in 1996 the Confederation of Indian Industry (‘CII') undertook the first institutional initiative on corporate governance in India (leading to the 1998 report on ‘Desired Corporate Governance: A Code'), the ideals of...

This author in the article titled as ‘Dispute Resolution Panels: Failed Solution Already' (2012) 341 ITR (Journal) 52 had examined the manner in which the Dispute Resolutions Panels (DPRs) had been functioning and the effectiveness with which they had worked towards the attainment of their...

The history of ever expanding horizon of service tax law in India has extensive sub-chapters of its own. The levy being unique and unprecedented in the country, the Finance Act, 1994 has made a number of experiments for the levy and collection of service tax from various sectors. Sometimes owing...

In his paper titled ‘Dividend Distribution Tax – Some Nuances' published in 339 ITR (J) 52 the learned author has dwelled upon certain aspects of tax on distributed profits under Section 115O of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘1961 Act'). In 339 ITR (J) 52 the author referred contrary decisions...

The unbridled intent to maximize the return for shareholders has earned an enviable place for the tax-planning fraternity in corporate structuring deliberations. More often than not, elevating the trend akin to an axiomatic proposition, cross-border transactions are tested for tax-efficiency...

The exigibility of a transaction to multiple levies has always been a contentious issue. Vivisection of composite contracts to subject various elements therein to diverse levies is a quintessential reflection of this trend exhibited by tax-authorities. The issue is more or less settled in the...

An earlier version of this paper can be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1997835This author in the article titled as ‘Taxability of Corporate Gift of Shares' had examined the ruling of AAR in Dana Corporation, In Re and others. In those rulings the AAR had inter alia held that no capital...

With the objective of tax-minimization towards increasing shareholder return, tax-avoidance strategies are being frequently employed by corporations especially multinationals. In the wake of increasing evidence of corporate collapses linked with tax-avoidance maneuvers, both economic and legal...

The demand for oil and natural gas in the country is directly proportional to the growing population and changing consumption trends. The case for India is no different. Even though the emphasis is on shifting to consumption of non-conventional sources of energy, oil and natural gas continue to...

The Finance Act, 1994 levies service tax on taxable services. The legal position prior to 01.07.2012 was that the taxable services were specifically defined in Section 65 of the Act. The taxable event and the types of legal entitles liable to tax were also specifically provided for each of the...