The Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) on 12 June 2026, notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 (‘Amendment Rules’), amending the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 (‘NDI Rules’). The Amendment Rules constitute the third amendment in the FEMA liberalisation cycle for the year 2026, following the first and second amendments, which respectively relaxed restrictions on investments from countries sharing a land border with India and liberalised foreign investment in the insurance sector opening the sector up till 100% under automatic route. The third amendment is yet another attempt to widen the gate for the Indian economy. For years, access to India's listed securities market was reserved specially for a defined class amongst which are foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCIs), this time the liberalisation is into the Indian capital markets.
The 2026 Steel import Regulation of the European Union (EU) (‘2026 Regulation’),[1] which came into force on 1 July 2026, is not simply a continuation of earlier Steel Safeguard measures[2] applicable since 2018, but it indicates a decisive shift in the EU’s approach to regulate its steel imports in the coming years. With lowering of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), higher out-of-quota duties and proposal for stricter origin requirements, the 2026 Regulation goes beyond the WTO’s temporary safeguard regime to a more permanent industrial policy governing steel imports into the EU. In particular, the 2026 Regulation reduces the EU's tariff-free steel quota by ~47%, doubles the out-of-quota duty from 25% to 50%, and introduces a new ‘melt and pour’ traceability requirement.
Various State Benches of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (‘GSTAT’) have recently become operational, and questions relating to jurisdiction between the Principal Bench and the State Benches have begun to arise in practice. While Section 109 of the CGST Act specifies certain categories of cases to be dealt with exclusively by the Principal Bench, early orders of the Principal Bench indicate that jurisdictional issues are not always straightforward.
The first permanent statute for imposing regular income-tax in India was enacted in 1886 and since then, agricultural income has been exempted from levy of income-tax in India. While the exemption granted to agricultural income from income-tax in 1886 continues even today, the rationale for extending such exemption in 1886 seems to be no longer relevant.
Union Budget 2021-22 proposes introduction of anti-absorption provisions in the legal framework governing anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations. The article deals with questions like what is absorption, what is its purpose and the relevant changes as proposed in the Sections 9 and 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The author also highlights the difference in the anti-absorption provisions for ADD and CVD and discusses certain aspects of the EU’s anti-dumping framework.
CGST Rule 96(10) has seen conflicting interpretations, retrospective amendments and challenges. Deliberating on the interpretation of the word ‘person’ used in said rule, the article attempts to answer the question as to whether other registrations of a company, which availed benefit of Advance authorisaiton/EOU scheme in one registration, become ineligible to claim IGST refund on exports. The author discusses both propositions – multiple registrations, and multiple units in same registration.
The article discusses elaborately a recent decision of the Delhi High Court on the question as to whether the communication of a sound recording to the public also amounts to communication of the literary and musical works embodied in the sound recording to the public. It was also held that the 2012 amendment in Section 19(10) of the Copyright Act was not retrospective in nature.
The article highlights the recently introduced Startup India Seed Fund Scheme for providing financial assistance to startups and the measures taken by the SEBI under the Innovators Growth Platform (‘IGP’) framework. A recent amendment in the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, further simplifying the restructuring avenue for startups, also forms part of this article.
The article discusses as to whether, in anti-circumvention investigation, the anti-dumping duty should be imposed retrospectively from the date of initiation of the such investigation or from the date of the final findings in the said investigation. Going through the recent decision of the Designated Authority the authors hold that though the Authority has rightly interpreted Rule 27 but, the soundness of the reason may come under challenge…
The Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021 (‘Amendment Rules’) have been published in the Gazette of India on 25 January 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The Amendment Rules come into effect from said date and further amend the Design Rules, 2001 which has been previously amended vide the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2014. The article discusses elaborately, certain key changes brought in by the Amendment Rules.
Big-tech giants are under constant scrutiny by antitrust regulators globally. There is also consensus that the existing antitrust framework are not sufficient for addressing various competition and privacy challenges. As a result, different jurisdictions are working on amending their current laws to deal with the issues emanating from the practices of the giants of the digital markets. This article discusses the major legislative and policy developments being proposed in India, US, EU and UK.
Charanya Lakshmikumaran Neelambera Sandeepan27 Jan 2021
The article intends to demystify the controversial issue relating to the classification of different kinds of toys under GST. It raises the question as to whether the toys like guns, skipping ropes, musical toys and the toys which fall under the scope of ‘other toys’ in the HSN explanatory note to Heading 9503, can be classified under Sl. No. 228 of Schedule II (12% GST) to Notification No. 1/2017-Central Tax (Rate).
The article discusses at length the recent decision of the IPAB in the case of Wisig Networks Private Limited v. Controller. Observing that the case was a victim of hurried disposal of the patent applications, the IPAB held that although certain degree of check on quantitative performance of the officers at the IPO is essential, but the qualitative performance of the officers cannot be ignored. Highlighting the importance of a reasoned order, the author is also of the view that…
The article discusses at length the recent decision of the ITAT Delhi in the case of Giesecke & Devrient [India] Pvt Ltd. v. Addl. CIT. The decision provides a major relief to the taxpayers on the rate of tax applicable on dividends paid by an Indian company to its overseas parent. The ITAT has held that tax rates specified in the DTAA in respect of dividend must prevail over the rate provided under Section 115-O of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Dividend Distribution Tax.
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