In the intricate realm of corporate governance, ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance is paramount when it comes to related party transactions. In an Indian corporate landscape marked by ever-evolving regulations and growing complexities, directors and management play a critical role in related party transactions.

• ➤  Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) used in manufacture of alcoholic liquor for human consumption is proposed to be kept out of ambit of GST.

• ➤  Input Service Distributor (ISD) Mechanism to be made mandatory prospectively.

• ➤  Taxation of Personal Guarantee & Corporate Guarantee.

• ➤  Amnesty Scheme for filing Appeals when time-barred.

• ➤  Provisional attachment to be valid only upto 1 year of attachment.

• ➤  Supplies by Indian Railways to be applicable on Forward Charge Mechanism basis.

The strong economic growth, large consumer market, favourable demographic profile, government initiatives, and improved regulatory environment are all significant factors that encourage Private Equity investment in India. Private Equity and Venture Capital investments in India crossed $60 billion during the year 2022. India ended 2022 with $61.6 billion in PE/VC investments.

Post pandemic disruption and ever-changing consumer expectation is pushing the leaders and their enterprises across industries and geographies to lean into strategies powered by technology hence create differentiaiton. Technologies, like Artificial Intelligence or AI, Cloud, Robotics Process Automation and the Data Analytics are the key strategic enablers, helping the enterprises to innovate, reinvent and create more value.

For the first time in India, Digital Data Protection Bill 2023 has been passed and has now become the law. The framework of DPDP Act aims to set rules for protecting the digital rights of individuals and ensure that their data is shared only with their consent.

Sec 206C (1G) was inserted by Finance Act, 2020 w.e.f. 01-10-2020 to enable Tax Collection at Source (TCS) by an Authorised Dealer (Banks, Forex dealer, Money changer etc.) on foreign remittance made under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). In addition, the seller of overseas tour program was also required to collect tax at source from the buyer of such package. The rate for collection of TCS as introduced was @5%. The remittances made under LRS exceeding INR 7 Lacs in a financial year were subject to TCS where the purpose was other than a purchase of overseas tour program.

In recent years, there has been growing interest in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) disclosures. Investors, regulators, and other stakeholders are increasingly demanding more information about the ESG performance of companies.

In response to these demands, in 2021, The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) strengthened the ESG disclosure regime by rolling out a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework.

Declaration from GTA for payment of tax on forward charge basis shall not be required every year and shall be deemed to have been exercised for future years unless declaration for reverting to RCM has been filed.

Why do we exist and what is our unique contribution to the needs of society and the environment? Sounds familiar? Well, here we are not talking about the existential question that we all face once in a while in our day-to-day life as individuals. This is the premise of existence of corporates in this ever-evolving global environment. We are all aware and many have already worked upon the concept of Integrated Reporting which is fast becoming indispensable for the corporates to demonstrate the integration of their financial performance with the company’s performance on the Environmental, Social and Governance parameters – the important “Whys” in today’s world.

As the deadline for the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) for FY 2022-23 approaches, the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into the strategy and business practices of companies is gaining the utmost importance. However, despite the increasing awareness of the significance of ESG, many companies implementing BRSR for the first time still face challenges in envisioning, integrating, and reporting their corporate ESG practices. In this article, we take a closer look at the evolution of ESG integrationin India, including the obstacles that companies face, the opportunities for improvement, and the best practices that can be adopted to achieve sustainable growth.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, presented the first Amrit Kaal budget on February 1. According to the FM, the Budget for 2023-24 builds on the foundation of the previous budget and the blue print for India@100. The government is focusing on wide-ranging reforms and some policies are being implemented through 'Sabka Prayas', Sitharaman said.

As per the provisions of Section 149(10) of the Companies Act 2013, an independent director shall hold office for a term of up to 5 years and shall be eligible for reappointment on the passing of a special resolution by the company for a maximum of 2 consecutive terms. Hence, an independent director will not be eligible to be reappointed if he or she has completed 10 years of tenure in compliance with the law. Given the timing of the Act, a large number of companies will have directors rotating out in the next few months, providing an opportunity to re-engineer their boards more effectively.

This article is based on the premise that an entity is desirous of true governance and value addition from the board. Further, this is a simplistic article focused on providing basics and key points with an implementable framework.

On 27, December 2022, the GST Policy Wing of CBITC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) issued six circulars clarifying various issues like ITC Entitlement, Manner of filing applications for GST refunds by unregistered persons, Taxability of No Claim Bonus & applicability of GST e-invoicing etc.

India, the world's fifth-largest and fastest-growing economy, is embracing a digital revolution. With the growing popularity of digital payments, India has finally launched its first retail digital currency, the E-Rupee.

E-Rupee promises to revolutionize the Indian economy by providing a secure, efficient, and low-cost system for conducting online transactions as a fiat currency of the economy. It has the potential to revolutionize the way people make payments, transfer money, and conduct business in the digital age. The E-Rupee could also have far-reaching implications for the Indian banking sector and the overall economy. This article will explore the possibilities of the E-Rupee by looking at its features, benefits, and potential implications.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implies a concept, whereby companies and businesses contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept that involves companies incorporating social and other valuable concerns into their business operations for the benefit of their stakeholders and society in general.

As per Section 135(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, it is mandatory that every company having :

   1. The net worth of INR 5 billion or more, or

   2. Turnover of INR 10 billion or more, or

   3. Net Profit of INR 50 million or more

On September 13th, 2022, the Central Board of Direct Taxes issued a circular describing guidelines for the “removal of difficulties” under sub-section (2) of section 194R of the Income-tax Act, 1961. As clarified in the circular, this Circular is only for removing provisions of Section 194R of the Act without affecting the taxability of income in a person's hands.