CA Online

Small and medium-sized firms feel a tie-up with global cos will help in brand building With the Bar Council of India having come around to accepting the entry of foreign law firms into the country as proposed by the government recently, medium-size firms have spotted an opportunity. Firms that were talking of expanding their own brands are increasingly considering alternatives. Meanwhile, the split in India's top law firms seems like the harbinger of a wave of consolidation. The breakup of Amarchand and Mangaldas and Suresh A Shroff & Co. has got smaller firms thinking, said inhouse lawyers at prominent business houses. Several firms have pitched themselves to prospective clients with the promise of growth, possibly through inorganic means and bringing these two themes together. “If a good foreign law firm seeks a tie-up, even with the possibility of merging, if and when regulations allow it, law firms like ours will not shy away from exploring it,“ said Ramesh Vaidyana

GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND TAXES (POLICY BRANCH) VYAPAR BHAWAN, I.P.ESTATE, NEW DELHI-110 002 No.F.7(420)/VAT/Policy/2011/PF/449-455   Dated: 27/07/2015 CIRCULAR NO.16 of 2015-16 Sub: Filing of online return for 1st quarter of 2015-16 – extension of period       thereof.    In exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 49A of the Delhi Value Added Tax Rules, 2005, I, Vijay Kumar, Commissioner, Value Added Tax, do hereby extend the last date of filing of online/hard copy of first quarter return for the year 2015-16, in Form DVAT-16 ,DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 along with required annexure/enclosures to 04/08/2015.   However, the tax due shall continue to be paid in the usual manner as per the provisions of section 3(4) of the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004.  The dealers filing the returns through digital signature need not be required to file hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56.     (Vijay Kumar) Commissioner, VAT       No.F.7(420)/VAT/Po

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the government’s appeal against a March verdict by the Madras high court that declared several key provisions in the Trademarks Act as unconstitutional. A bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana dismissed the special leave petition filed by the government, giving finality to the earlier high court judgement. Ruling on a public interest litigation filed by Shamnad Basheer, founder of the SpicyIP (intellectual property) blog, the high court struck down several key provisions of the Trademarks Act, 1999, which established the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The Madras high court ruling struck down provisions on the appointment of judicial and technical members of IPAB. Under the court’s ruling, a very small pool of government officials would now be eligible for appointment as technical members to adjudicate on trademark matters, giving primacy to the legal nature of the tribunal. Questioning the relevance of IPAB

Panel is now expected to submit its report on 5 August, leaving little time for NDA to push forward the legislation The problems for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the ongoing session of Parliament don’t seem to be ending soon, with the joint parliamentary committee, discussing the controversial land acquisition bill, likely to ask for a further extension from the Rajya Sabha. The committee has already asked for two extensions, and another extension will lead to further delay in submission of the report on a key reform legislation that the central government is keen to push through to boost economic growth. The committee is likely to give its report on 5 August, which will give the government just six working days to take up the land acquisition bill for discussion in both houses of the Parliament before the session ends on 13 August. “It was decided in the meeting to ask for further extension of two days. The report was supposed to be submitted on 3 Aug

The registry will link different identity proofs, track details of financial transactions to curb tax evasion The government will soon notify rules to set up a central Know Your Customer (KYC) registry that will link different identity proofs of an individual and track details of all financial transactions at one place in an attempt to curb tax evasion. The Supreme Court-appointed special investigative team (SIT), looking into ways to tackle black money, had in a report which was made public on Friday recommended establishing such a central KYC and allowing all law enforcement agencies and financial institutions access to the database. SIT had recommended that the rules be notified at the earliest. The central registry and steps taken by the government to increase the use of electronic payments are aimed at curbing tax evasion in a country where the tax-to-gross domestic product ratio is just about 11%. With the new measures, the government is trying to widen the tax base by tr

Hold the RBI to account, do not undermine it It is welcome that the government has clarified that the draft code put out by the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission is just that: a draft, and not necessarily a reflection of the government's thinking. If the draft were to become the law, the RBI will become a toothless body while core monetary policy will shift to the government. If the Urjit Patel committee's recommendation to vest policy-setting powers in all-RBI committee was a piece of central banking power grab, the present recommendation is an attempt to divest the RBI of any rate-setting power, even as it remains tasked with containing inflation. The government should rethink the code. One lesson from the 2008 financial crisis is that monetary policy in a globalising world has to shed its obsession with inflation and target multiple goals -financial stability , growth and stable prices -with multiple instruments: variable margins, quantitative limits, int

Level playing field only for overseas investors who establish a business in the country India is likely to stop treating overseas investors on a par with domestic ones until they establish a business in the country, marking a significant change in stance on comprehensive trade and investment agreements from the previous government.Such a move would be of a piece with the finance ministry--concerned that India has given too much away in such accords--gaining a role in the negotiation of investment agreements. In technical terms, the government is unlikely to allow what is known as `preestablishment national treatment' in trade and investment agreements. With the government looking to overhaul the country's strategy for trade engagement, the view is that this level playing field should be available to foreign investors only once they have a presence--`post-establishment'--not when they're still considering investment. “The thinking is that only post-establishme