Goods and Service Tax (“GST”) is a comprehensive tax on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services, that will absorb most of the indirect taxes levied by Central and State Government. Currently the GST is adopted in over 150 countries. If passed, GST Bill would be THE biggest tax reform by the Indian government…
Regulations
Virtual Stock Market and Gambling Laws in India
A few days back I received a very interesting business plan – Create a gaming zone where game numbers will move based on F&O prices, a virtual stock market of sorts – where everything at the front end of the gaming studio will be integrated to real time stock prices. Without getting into much detail…
Shareholder Activism in India
Shareholder Activism – What is? Any act of the shareholder(s) of a company which results in either influencing or changing the behavior and / or decision of the company, either through its management or otherwise. Issues on shareholder activism and corporate governance have been a point of debate in the United States and Europe for many years.…
Marketing of Financial Services
Marketing of financial services and products is probably the most regulated field in India. Despite this, potential customers regularly get convinced about buying investment products which are inconsistent with their needs and future plans. In this article, I will discuss the problem of (i) Unsolicited marketing of financial services and products, and (ii) Regulations regarding…
Top 5 in-Famous Financial Frauds in India
This post is about some famous financial frauds in India over the last few years. These certainly are not the only ones and as in past, in future there will be more. Harshad Mehta (1990 – 92) Known as the big bull – is perhaps the most familiar name when it comes to financial frauds…
Foreign Portfolio Investors Regulations, 2014
In order to have one integrated policy on foreign investment, the Indian securities market regulator i.e. Securities Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has introduced the Foreign Portfolio Investors Regulations (FPI), 2014. The FPI Regulation, 2014 replace the existing Foreign Institutional Investor Regulations, 1995 (FII regulation applicable to institutional investors, such as mutual funds, pension funds,…
SEBI Regulations for Investment Advisers and Research Analysts
Analysts or investment advisers are experts or at the least understand the markets a little more, given that they spend a lot of time reading and researching about stocks. People often rely on their advice, hoping that they have the most accurate information about the company/securities which they are covering. While this may or may…
A Checklist to Conduct Basic Due Diligence in India
Even before you begin to get interested in buying a business or asset, there is a series of checks which you should perform. Often, companies engage legal and consulting firms to conduct basic due diligence on target companies and their management. Not only is this extremely expensive but in most cases not needed at the…
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Norms – Taking PSU inefficiency to the next level
In February of this year (2014), the Government notified the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms making it mandatory for companies to take a 2% cut in their net profits and use that money for the betterment of the society. I have maintained this from the very beginning that not only will this create more wastefulness,…
What is Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP)?
When businesses want to expand, they need capital. The stock market serves as an important medium for raising capital by sharing ownership of business in return for capital. Once the company gets listed on the stock exchange there are numerous ways to raise additional capital: It could do a rights issue and offer more shares…
How do you hire a lawyer in India without any reference?
Naturally, anyone in legal trouble would want to know the past record of a lawyer before making a decision to hire him. Unfortunately, if you want to hire a lawyer in India, you will have to rely on some uncommon old school ways to find one. The cumulative effect of the Advocates Act, the Rules…
Getting Legal Opinion in India
It’s about being on the right side of the law when conducting business. I have come across lots of businesses, who unknowingly violated regulations, resulting in significant legal costs and in a few cases, plunged the business into a total mess. This cannot be you. If you are a young business, it is all the…