The Question of whether amalgamation would per se invalidate an ‘assessment order’ issued in the name of the Transferor company was clarified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in PCIT (Central) v. Mahagun Realtors (P) Ltd (2022 SCC Online SC 407). Through this article the Authors capture and reflect on the peculiar aspects of the Judgement.

The Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act’) provides for various benefits for trusts which are established for charitable or religious purposes and registered under the IT Act. Sections 11 and 12 of the IT Act are the substantive provisions for exemptions available to religious and charitable trusts. The exemption provided for under Sections 11 and 12 is, however, subject to certain restrictions provided under Section 13 of the said Act. This week’s podcast discusses the implications of Section 13 which purports to deny the exemption available in certain scenarios.
 
 Audio Source : An article published on the LKS website in August 2022
 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/violation-of-section-13-of-the-income-tax-act-denial-of-entire-exemption-vs-partial-exemption/

Authors: Abhinov Vaidyanathan

Voice : Dikshita Damodaran

Under the Cenvat and Modvat regime as well as under various incentive schemes under the Customs law/FTDRA, there were unscrupulous persons, who created various firms/companies in the name of other individuals, existing or non-existing, for the purposes of undertaking fraudulent paper transactions. These companies/firms may be referred to as "dummy companies/firms." Invoices were made in these companies' names under the Cenvat and Modvat schemes to transfer duty and tax credits without paying the associated tariffs and taxes to the government. This week's podcast talks about different scenarios and punishments for such offences.

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in July 2022
https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/arrest-of-perpetrators-for-fraudulent-passing-and-availing-itc-in-gst-some-issues/

Authors: Atul Gupta, Partner (LKS)

Voice: Neelambera Sandeepan 

https://www.lakshmisri.com/

Despite not being a party to WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement, India agreed for commitments in government procurement in the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This Podcast discusses the features of chapter 10 of the CEPA, benefits of inclusion, how India has safeguarded its interest in negotiations, the aspects that are yet to be negotiated and the impact of such incorporations on India’s current and future FTAs.

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in July 2022
https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/opening-market-access-in-government-procurement-through-india-uae-fta/

Authors : Aayush Rastogi, Associate ( LKS) ; and Ashutosh Arvind Kumar, Associate (LKS)

Voice: Dikshita Damodaran

https://www.lakshmisri.com/

Special Economic Zones (‘SEZ’) were introduced with an intent to drive economic growth along with quality infrastructure complemented by attractive fiscal package. Initially introduced in the form of SEZ Policy in 2000, the scheme was subsequently formalised in the form of SEZ Act, 2005 (‘SEZ Act’). SEZ has, in today’s world, become a very familiar terminology to the larger public/ layman because of growing interest of the public in tax debates and economic development of the country.  This week's podcast talks about the eligibility to claim deduction under income-tax post business re-structuring that impacts SEZ developers and entrepreneurs.

Audio Source : An article published on the LKS website in July 2022
https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/deduction-under-10aa-benefit-available-even-after-sunset-date/#

 Authors: Karanjot Singh, Joint Partner (LKS) and; Parvathy Kartha, Principal Associate (LKS)

Voice: Anushka Verma

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This week's podcast talks about the dilemma in affording protection to single colour trademarks in India. The authors discuss the protection granted to single-colour trademarks across various jurisdictions by taking the example of the famed red-soled Louboutin shoes. Further, the dissenting views of the Indian judiciary have also been discussed. Lastly, the authors opine on the criteria on which single-colour trademarks can be protected in India.

Audio Source: An Article Published on LKS Website on 18th July 2022 Single colour trademarks – A ‘grey’ area | Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys (lakshmisri.com)
 
Author : Anushka Verma, Associate(LKS);  Rajalakshmi R, Partner (LKS)
 
Voice: Anushka Verma,  Associate(LKS)

https://www.lakshmisri.com/

The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) in recent years, has become a vigorous regulator. Bid-rigging in public procurement is one of the areas where the CCI has consistently investigated and penalized enterprises in the past decade. This podcast explains the concept of bid-rigging, the different types of bid-rigging practices, and how jurisprudence has evolved in this area of economic activity.

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in July 2022 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/bid-rigging-in-public-procurement-an-indian-perspective/#

Authors: Neelambera Sandeepan, Joint Partner (LKS); and Amruta Pradhan, Associate (LKS)

Voice: Neelambera Sandeepan, Joint Partner (LKS)

https://www.lakshmisri.com/

The World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) concluded the 12th Ministerial Conference (‘MC 12’) in Geneva last month (June 2022). MC 12 has achieved certain significant success in delivering key outcomes. India has played a key role in defending the interests of the developing world and saving the WTO from the risk of irrelevance. This week’s podcast provides a broad analytical overview of the key contents of the Geneva Package.

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in June 2022 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/notes-from-the-wto-s-12th-ministerial-conference-india-saves-the-day/#

Author: Jayant Raghu Ram, Principal Associate (LKS)

Voice: Disha Agarwal, Senior Executive - PR & Corporate Communications (LKS)

www.lakshmisri.com

The podcast focuses on and discusses the major changes in relation to the Contract Labour regime under the new ‘The Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020’ (OSHW Code).

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in June 2022 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/contract-labour-under-the-new-regime-an-overview/#

Author: Manan Chhabra, Sr. Associate (LKS)

Voice: Disha Agarwal, Senior Executive - PR & Corporate Communications (LKS)

www.lakshmisri.com

This week’s podcast talks about the recently released draft amendment by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (‘MEITY’)  to the Information Technology Rules, 2021 for public consultation. The Draft Amendment proposes to bring about certain changes to the due diligence requirements to be followed by intermediaries, grievance redressal mechanism, timelines for responding to grievances, and proposes the constitution of GRAC by the Central Government.

Audio Source: An article published on the LKS website in June 2022 https://www.lakshmisri.com/insights/articles/amendment-to-intermediaries-guidelines/#

Authors: Prashant Phillips, Partner (LKS), Sameer Avasarala, Sr. Associate (LKS), and Gaurav Tiwari, Associate (LKS)

Voice: Disha Agarwal, Senior Executive - PR & Corporate Communications (LKS)

www.lakshmisri.com