In June 2019, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ratified the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.[i] Earlier, India and the US had signed an agreement for the exchange of country-by-country report in order to give massive relief to subsidiaries of US-headquartered companies in taxation-related matters. The filing of Country-by-Country (CbC) Report by the multinational companies placed a huge compliance burden on the subsidiary companies. Hence, the agreement signed between India and the US will enable both countries to automatically exchange CbC reports filed by the parent entities. This was part of the action plan adopted by the Organisation…
-
-
Analysis of SEBI’s DVR Framework and Addressing Concerns
A shareholder derives his power of voting in a company from Section 47 of the Companies Act 2013. With a general right to vote on every resolution, shareholders exert their ownership through voting on key corporate issues at the annual general meeting. These issues involve the appointment of the board of directors, issuing of securities etc. Certain restrictions can be placed on the voting rights of a shareholder by the articles of association of a company but generally, the shareholders have one vote per share in accordance with the principle of corporate governance. With the growth and increase in the scale of operation, a company needs more capital. Debt not…
-
India’s Draft E-Commerce Policy: A Set-Back
The e-commerce industry has been booming over the years and has facilitated the integration of markets across the world. It allows producers as well as buyers to access markets easily which were hitherto separated by time and distance. In India, it brings in a lot of Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) as the market-based model for e-commerce entities is allowed 100% FDI. In May 2018, Walmart announced its intention to acquire 77% stake in Flipkart, which was approved by the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) in August 2018, resulting in the biggest acquisition of an e-commerce company around the world. This decision was met with almost equal support and opposition. While…
-
Legal Underpinnings of the US withdrawal of Generalized System of Preferences benefits to India
The World Trade Organization (“WTO”) is an international organization which regulates the trade relations between its member nations. The WTO covers both multilateral as well as Plurilateral Agreements. These Agreements contain certain special provisions for the benefit of the developing nations in the form of special rights. These provisions give developed nations certain rights to treat the developing nations more favourably than other members of the WTO. These provisions are called “Special and differential treatment provisions”. One such benefit provided to the developing nations by the developed nations is the Generalized System of Preferences (“GSP”). The legal basis for the GSP is the Enabling Clause which allowed developing countries to…
-
SEBI Proposes Pre-Deposit Appeals: What About Access to Justice?
In an attempt to tackle frivolous appeals, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has proposed the introduction of a mandatory deposit of 10% of the penalty imposed by it, before an appeal from its orders/directions can be sought before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”). This requirement would also stand, mutatis mutandis, in cases where SEBI has ordered for refunds, recovery, disgorgement or compounding against an entity. In this article, the author explores the jurisprudence behind “pre-deposit appeals”, its interplay with the fundamental right to access of justice, and its propriety, when applied to the peculiar jurisdictional realities of SEBI. What is a Pre-Deposit Appeal? A pre-deposit appeal…
-
Moral Rights of Architects : No Remedy for Demolition of Works?
In May this year, in a case concerning the demolition of Hall of Nations, Hall of Industries, and Nehru Pavilion in Delhi, all three of them being highly acclaimed architectural relics, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has ruled that an architect does not have the right to ask for reconstruction of his demolished buildings as per original plans. The primary question that this case raised was vis-a-vis the ambit of the Right to Integrity in works of one’s authorship as guaranteed by the Berne Convention to which India is a signatory and the mandate of which has been adopted into India by virtue of the Copyright Act, 1957. [Ayushi Goel…
-
NCLAT on Purchase of Minority Shareholding under Section 236 of the Companies Act, 2013
S. Gopakumar Nair & Anr. Vs. OBO Betttermann India Private Limited & Anr. Decided by the Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, New Delhi (Company Appeal (AT) No. 272/2018 – Decided on 09.07.2019) (Coram – Justice A.I.S. Cheema and Mr. Balvinder Singh) [Highlights: The provision of purchase of minority shareholding under Section 236 of the Companies Act, 2013 is only applicable to cases of an amalgamation, share exchange, conversion of securities or for other similar reasons, and not every case where 90% or more shareholding in a company is acquired. Second, valuation of shares for the purchase of minority shareholding under Section 236(2) must be done by a “registered valuer” and…
-
IL&FS Securities Services Ltd. Vs. NSE Clearing & Ors. [SAT Order – 03.07.2019]
[Highlights: First, the Hon’ble Securities Appellate Tribunal has held that decisions of Clearing Corporations established under Section 8-A of the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, 1956 are appealable under Section 23L of that Act. Second, it reiterated that SEBI has wide powers to consider an annulment of trades under Sections 11 & 11B of the SEBI Act, 1992. Third, an affected party has the right to apply for the modification of a SEBI order and SEBI cannot deny such party, seeking to protect its interests, an opportunity of being heard.] Decided by the Hon’ble Securities Appellate Tribunal, Mumbai – Appeal No. 262/2019 – Decided on 03.07.2019 (here) Facts of…
-
Judicial Evolution of ‘Fair Use’ of Copyrights – In the Context of Parodies
To parody is to imitate another’s work in order to ridicule or criticize such work. The act of copying may also be the result of reproducing an original work indirectly, which is from a copy thereof. Parody is not possible without reproduction of a certain amount of work from the original published work. Where does an act of parody then violate the rights of the creator and cause copyright infringement? [Abhishek Iyer is a student of 3rd Year B.A.-LLB at the Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar and can be reached at abhishekiyer1999[at]gmail.com] History of the Creator’s Rights The first statute that protected the creator’s rights was Britain’s Statute of Anne…
-
Trade Dress Infringement: When Imitation is not Flattery
The Trade Marks Act (TMA) was introduced in 1999 for the registration of Trade Marks in India and mainly to provide for better protection of the trademark for goods and services preventing their fraudulent use. Trade Mark refers to a graphically representable mark capable of distinguishing a particular good or service distinctively which includes the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours, etc. Under section 2(q) of TMA, a ‘package’ further includes a case, box, container, covering, folder, receptacle, vessel, casket, bottle, wrapper, label, band, ticket, reel, frame, capsule, cap, lid, stopper and cork. This article seeks to analyse ‘trade dress’ as an intellectual property right, both in…
