Ergo Update

This is in furtherance to our Ergo Updates dated 23 July 2018 and 28 August 2018, on monetary limits for filing of appeal by the Income-tax department (Department). Now, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), vide circular No. 17/2019 dated 8 August 2019 (Circular), has further enhanced the monetary limits for filing of appeals by the Department before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), High Court (HC) and the Supreme Court (SC).

The Central Board of Direct Taxes – the apex body for direct tax administration in India (CBDT), has issued a clarification dated 9 August 2019 (Clarification) that provides further clarity with respect to ‘angel tax’ levied on start-ups. Further, as per a recent circular (dated 7 August 2019), the CBDT has announced simplification of tax assessment of start-ups in cases where angel tax levy is the subject matter of the proceedings.

On 9 August 2019, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman of the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) upheld the constitutional validity of the amendment to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“Code”) confirming the status of ‘financial creditors’ given to the allottees of a real estate project. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has opened gates for homebuyers to now approach the NCLT against defaulting developers in addition to seeking remedies before the Consumer Forum and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has constantly reformed the merger control regulations from 2011. In 2018, the CCI took it upon itself to further streamline the merger control regime to increase the ease of doing business in India.

The Digital Age has ushered in a new era of commerce and digital branding, as well as a new set of customer expectations. Digitisation has provided easy access, a large variety of choice, convenient payment mechanisms, improved services and shopping as per convenience. However, along the growth path it also brought in challenges related to consumer protection.

In a move to consolidate the law relating to occupational safety and health, welfare facilities and working conditions in relation to employees and workers, the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2019 (OSH Code) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 July 2019. The proposed legislation seeks to replace 13 extant statutes, which are –

The question that arose before the Supreme Court in the appeal in Garware Wall Ropes Ltd vs Coastal Marine Constructions & Engineering Ltd, Civil Appeal No 3631 of 2019 (present case) was whether the earlier judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of SMS Teas Estates (P) Ltd Vs Chandmari Tea Co (P) Ltd, (2011) 14 SCC 66 (SMS Teas Estates) would continue to apply to  the introduction of Section 11 (6A) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (1996 Act), by way of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 (2015 Act).

The Kotak Committee Report on Corporate Governance had recommended certain changes to the regulatory regime for group audit.

The division bench of the Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) comprising of Hon’ble Justice Dr D.Y. Chandrachud and Hon’ble Justice Mr Hemant Gupta, in its judgment dated 13 March 2019 in Ripudaman Singh v Balkrishna, has inter alia held that a payment which is made in pursuance of an agreement to sell is a payment made in pursuance of a duly enforceable debt or liability for the purposes of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (Act).

The Karnataka Government (Government) vide its notification dated 8 August 2019 notified the Karnataka Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Rules, 2019 (Amendment Rules). The Amendment Rules address and clarify several key aspects concerning the provision and management of creche facilities which had not been previously addressed by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Amendment Act).