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INDIA UPDATES

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced an integrated Single Master Form (SMF) to simplify the reporting procedure for various types of foreign investments in India, under its circular dated 7 June 2018.
  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has drafted the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2018, containing new labelling formats for food products with high sugar or fat content, genetically modified food products, etc.
  • The FSSAI has notified the Foods Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, which govern the quality standards and labelling requirements for alcohol beverages manufactured or imported in India, and must be complied by 1 April 2019.
  • The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approved the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommendations on in-flight mobile services in India.
  • The RBI has mandated the system providers to store the payment related data within India, except when there is a foreign leg involved.
  • India’s Central Government has released the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy 2017 effective from 28 August 2017, introducing provisions relating to the FDI approval for Start-up companies in India and declaring the Department of Industry Policy & Promotion (DIPP) as the administrative ministry of the FDI policy and proposals, after the abolition of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
  • The Supreme Court of India has declared the right to privacy as a fundamental right with reasonable restrictions, under the Indian Constitution.
  • The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has clarified that the Limitation Act, 1963 is not applicable to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. This allows initiating debt recovery proceedings at any time against the defaulters, without any limitations on time.
  • India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notified the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, which prescribes power to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to investigate and arrest individuals for committing fraudulent activities, such as money laundering, tax evasion, etc.
  • The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has released a consultation paper on the issues of ownership, privacy and security of the user’s data, to invite recommendations from the stakeholders.
  • The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has now mandated the Indian listed companies to make disclosures regarding the defaults in timely payment of loan installments and interests, to ensure fiscal discipline in India.
  • The Indian Companies Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes to ease the stringent incorporation requirements, accounting standards, penal provisions, align with SEBI insider trading rules, etc. This is to promote the ease of doing business in India.
  • The Supreme Court of India’s landmark judgment allowed the parties to an insolvency suit to withdraw from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on mutual settlement. This is to provide the distressed company a chance to recover on its fiscal discipline.
  • India’s Telecom Department and the Ministry of Finance, through a collectively formed Inter-Ministerial Group, is in the process of revising the telecom guidelines in respect of the license fee, spectrum usage charges, deferred payments, etc., to resolve the existing financial stress in the Indian telecom industry.
  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is considering to include pictorial warnings on the alcoholic beverages’ labels, regarding the ill effects of alcohol and drunk driving.
  • The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, introduced in the Indian Parliament on 24 July 2017, intends to empower the Reserve Bank of India to initiate insolvency proceedings for resolving stressed assets.
  • The Supreme Court of India is now in the process of deciding whether the right to privacy constitutes a fundamental right and the reasonable restrictions to be imposed on it, as the result of a petition filed by the privacy rights activists. The issue arose due to the collection of Indian citizens’ biometric and demographic data by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and the linkage of their personal information, such as their permanent account number, with their Unique Identity Number issued by the UIDAI.
  • Indian Patent Office (IPO) revises its Examination Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions (CRIs): Removes the “novel hardware“ requirement from the patentability criteria. This makes it easier for the inventors seeking patents for CRIs, because there is no mandatory requirement to couple their inventive software with a “novel hardware“.
  • India’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion issues a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Foreign Investment Proposals (FIPs). FIPs, earlier approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, will be now approved by administrative ministries under the SOP.
  • India’s Competition Commission has removed the deadline to notify M&As which exceed the prescribed financial threshold. M&As can now be notified at any time after the board approval or the acquisition agreement’s execution.
  • India has implemented the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017, effective 1 July 2017, to unify the indirect taxes throughout the Indian States, and to eliminate the current loopholes in the tax regime.
  • The Indian Parliament’s Lower House has passed the Finance Bill, 2017 which proposes to amend various statutes and consolidate the tribunals established under them.
  • CCI has introduced amendments to the CCI (Lesser Penalty) Regulations, 2009 and sought public comments on providing leniency to whistle-blowers for reporting cartelisation.
  • The draft Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules 2017, released for public comments, intends to protect the consumer financial information collected by the e-wallet firms or prepaid payment instrument (PPI) companies.
  • The newly notified Trade Marks Rules, 2017 streamlines the trade mark application process in India, reduces the number of forms, introduces declaration of well-known trade marks by the Registrar, and significant changes to the fee structure.
  • Bombay High Court’s full bench has ruled that the use of a registered trade mark as a corporate name/trade name/business name in respect of dissimilar goods/services is not an infringement under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
  • The IBBI has released draft rules on voluntary liquidation of companies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, seeking public comments until 8 March, 2017.
  • The Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill, 2017, awaiting final approval in Rajya Sabha, imposes penalty for holding demonetised notes beyond specified limit.
  • The proposed Medical Devices Rules, 2017 replaces the stringent licensing norms with self-certification to obtain manufacturing license of medical devices in India.
  • Certain Indian States, including Maharashtra has amended the Contract Labour law and is now applicable to establishments with minimum fifty (50) workmen, instead of twenty (20) workmen.
  • IFSC (International Financial Services Centres) private companies exempted from certain provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, such as private placement restrictions, secretarial standards compliance, etc.
  • Maharashtra Land Revenue Code amended. Non-Agricultural Certificate is no longer required to carry out infrastructural development.
  • Wage ceiling limit increased from INR 15,000 to INR 21,000 per month under the Employees’ State Insurance law to cover larger workforce under the mandatory employee insurance scheme.
  • India-Singapore DTAA amended. India can tax capital gains arising from a Singapore tax resident’s alienation of shares of an Indian resident company.
  • All the listed companies undergoing merger/acquisition to obtain clearance from SEBI before approaching NCLT.
  • SEBI has amended the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Amendment Regulations, 2012 reducing the minimum investment threshold in the start-ups from Rs.50 lakh to Rs.25 lakh.
  • TRAI has introduced a final Consultation Paper supporting Net Neutrality, seeking stakeholder’s views by 15 February 2017.
  • Delhi High Court has dismissed PepsiCo’s and Rasna’s trade mark infringement cases for lack of jurisdiction, as the companies did not have their registered offices in Delhi.
  • RBI has allowed foreign portfolio investors to directly invest in non-convertible debentures/bonds issued by the Indian companies.
  • SEBI has notified disclosure norms for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which require the offer documents to contain financial information, related party transactions, and past performances.
  • Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the remaining provisions under the new Companies Act, 2013 relating to amalgamations, mergers, compromise, arrangements, liquidation and winding up.
  • India has signed a revised tax treaty with Cyprus to avoid the double taxation, which allows India to tax the capital gains arising from the transfer of investments made on or after 1 April 2017.
  • Delhi High Court’s Division Bench has ruled that intermediaries (such as ISPs, social networking sites, search engines, etc.) are immune from liability against copyright infringement for third party content, unless “actual knowledge of infringement“ on their part is proved.
  • SEBI has notified rules for providing permanent registration to eleven (11) categories of market intermediaries, including merchant bankers, investment advisors, issue and share transfer agents, underwriters, etc.
  • RBI has increased the FDI limits in various sectors to 100% under automatic route, including agriculture and animal husbandry, manufacturing, defence, broadcasting carriage services, cable networks, airport projects, pharmaceuticals, etc., subject to certain conditions.
  • Ministry of Telecommunications has notified the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016 to regulate the underground (optical fibre) and the overground infrastructures (mobile towers).
  • RBI has issued draft guidelines on Centralized Hedging Facility for non-resident companies’ Indian subsidiaries.
  • The child labour law of 1986 amended to The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, restoring the interests and rights of the children and adolescents in India.
  • Place of Provision of Service Rules, 2012 Amended: The Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (the “OIDAR“) obtained in India from person outside India is now subjected to service tax in India.
  • The child labour law of 1986 amended to The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, restoring the interests and rights of the children and adolescents in India.

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