The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) has recently passed an order dated 8 March 2021 (SC Order) in Suo Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No 3/2020 (SC Matter), ending the indefinite extension of limitation period which was granted by the Supreme Court last year vide an earlier order dated 23 March 2020 (Earlier SC Order).
The Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court), vide a common judgment dated 02 March 2021, in a batch of tax appeals, in the lead case of Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence Pvt Ltd v The Commissioner of Income Tax & Another held that the amount paid by resident Indians to non-resident manufacturers/ suppliers of computer software in terms of distribution agreement or End-User Licence Agreement (EULA) does not amount to royalty and that such payment does not give rise to any income taxable in India and therefore, there is no liability on the resident Indian companies t
In March 2019, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had invited comments from stakeholders and the public on a draft e-commerce policy (2019 Draft Policy). Among other items, the 2019 Draft Policy proposed that measures should be taken to regulate cross-border data flow, establish a level playing field for domestic and foreign e-commerce players, boost sale of domestic products through e-commerce, and generally regulate e-commerce in India.
New rules have been announced recently by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (MHA) for Overseas Citizens of India cardholders (OCI cardholders) vide MHA notification of 4 March 2021 (OCI Notification 2021).
In the matter of Piyush Subashbhai Ranipa v. The State of Maharashtra, Anticipatory Bail Application No 336 of 2021 (Application), the Learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court (Court), rejected the anticipatory bail to the Applicant (defined hereinafter) in a criminal matter for the various offences under Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC), The Copyright Act 1957 (Copyright Act) and The Trade Marks Act 1999 (Trade Marks Act). The Court held that the offences under Section 63 of the Copyright Act and Section 103 of the Trade Marks Act (collectively, Acts) are non-bailable.
In what may not please many businesses, the Governor of Haryana granted his assent to the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 (Bill) on 26 February 2021. The Bill, which reserves 75% of the jobs in specified private sector posts for local candidates, was published in the Official Gazette for general information on 2 March 2021 and will take effect on such date as may be notified by the state government.
One of the key drivers behind the reorganization of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir (‘J&K’) into the Union Territory of J&K (‘UT’) with effect from 31 October 2019, was to usher in a new era of development based on the two pillars of industry and services.
On 15 February 2021, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) issued the ‘Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geo-spatial Data services including Maps’ (Guidelines). Acknowledging the benefits of availability of geospatial data and modern mapping technologies, the Guidelines seek to do away with the prior approvals, licenses and other restrictions on the collection, generation, preparation, dissemination, storage, publication, updating and/or digitization of geospatial data and maps in India.
The Government of Maharashtra (GoM) has by the Maharashtra Stamp (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance 2021 (Ordinance) amended Section 5 (Instruments Relating to Distinct Matters), Article 6 (Agreement Relating to Deposit of Title Deeds, Pawn, Pledge or Hypothecation) and Article 40 (Mortgage Deed) of Schedule I of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 (Maharashtra Stamp Act).
In an important and perhaps a much-needed move, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched an electronic facility for principal employers (i.e., establishments engaging contract labour through contractors / manpower service providers) whereby they may be able to verify compliance by their contractors with the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF Act) vis-à-vis the contract labour.
