Ergo Update

The Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formally withdrawn its guidelines on Indian ownership and control dated 19 October 2015 (IOC Guidelines), with effect from 30 July 2021. The withdrawal of the IOC Guidelines marks the completion of the removal of the requirement that Indian companies with foreign investment must remain “Indian owned and controlled”.

Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) filed a writ petition against Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before the Delhi High Court challenging PNB’s and IBA’s interpretation of the third exception to Section 28 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (ICA). The issue arose because L&T in its ordinary course of business, routinely submitted performance bank guarantees/ advance bank guarantees while bidding for government contracts and also submitted bid bonds/ bid security in the form of bank guarantees (BGs).

Several High Courts have stayed the reassessment proceedings in relation to reassessment notices issued by Income-Tax Authorities (IT Authorities) post 31 March 2021 for the financial year (FY) 2016-17 or prior FYs (Stay Orders). This is on account of the recent amendment to the law relating to reassessments under Income-Tax Act, 1961 (IT Act) which led to a paradigm shift in the number of FYs for which past tax assessments can be reopened.

On 14 July 2021, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed a claim of charging prices below-cost and entering exclusive agreements with drivers against Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd. (Uber).

On 8 July 2021, the Union Cabinet of India approved the Memorandum on Co-operation (MoC) between the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Japan’s competition agency, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC). The MoC aims to promote and strengthen co-operation in matters of competition law and policy.

On 2 July 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced the approval for the creation of the ‘Digital Intelligence Unit’ (DIU) and ‘Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection’ (TAFCOP) to curb financial frauds committed through misuse of telecom resources, such as consumer harassment by sending of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), use of false or forged documents to obtain telecom resources, and other deceitful activities.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, Government of India (Ministry) notified and made effective the provisions of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 (E-Commerce Rules) under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Act) from 24 July 2020. Our Ergo on the E-Commerce Rules can be accessed here.

On 07.06.2021, the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) passed its judgment (Judgment) in Appeal No.131 of 2020: Tamil Nadu Power Producers Association vs. Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission.

On 23 June 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued the Revised Other Service Provider (OSP) Guidelines (Revised Guidelines), in supersession of the New OSP Guidelines that were released on 5 November 2020 (Old Guidelines).

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) through a notification dated 17 June 2021 amended the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994 (Cable Rules 1994) by way of the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (Amendment). The Amendment introduces a formal complaint redressal mechanism for redressal of viewers grievances relating to content broadcasted by cable television channels which are in contravention of the Programme Code or Advertising Code under the Cable Rules 1994.