Foreign firms

New Delhi, 31st August 2019: West Haryana Highways Projects Private Limited (a Special Purpose Vehicle of Era Infra Engineering) was awarded a Concession Agreement by NHAI on DBFOT Toll basis for widening of existing two lane highway and also constructions of two new bypasses. Although WHHPPL substantially completed the work and Toll was stared in 2014, NHAI was not declaring the completion. Also WHHPPL suffered huge losses due to Project overrun including threat from Banks/Financial Institution w.r.t Insolvency Proceedings (needless to reiterate one such proceedings under I&B Code filed by Bank of Baroda (erstwhile Dena bank) was recently rejected by Principal Bench, New Delhi). It was the case of WHHPPL that NHAI failed to adhere to the terms of CA in fulfilling its obligation of handing over of land. The Arbitral Tribunal passed an Award in favor of WHHPPL inter alia agreeing with the contentions of WHHPPL and also held that NHAI was in breach of the CA. The Tribunal passed an award (including interest) of Rs.750 Crores in favor of WHHPPL. WHHPL was represented by Singh & Associates and lead by Founding Partner Mr. Manoj K Singh .

Singh & Associates' (S&A) Founding Partner, Manoj K Singh, awarded with ‘Special Recognition for Service to the Legal Profession’ at Achiever’s Awards 2019 New Delhi, 27th August 2019: Singh & Associates’ (S&A) Founding Partner, Manoj K Singh, was recognized and awarded with ‘Special Recognition for Service to the Legal Profession’ at Achiever’s Awards 2019 organised by Legal League Consulting held at Taj Mansingh, New Delhi, India. He was felicitated for his support to the legal profession. Mr. Singh, is a successful commercial disputes resolution lawyer and has been participating in and taking steps to augment the legal profession. The award was presented by Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice of India, who was also the Chief Guest of the summit and by Ms Bina Modi Board Director, Godfrey Phillips India Limited. The one-day Summit theme was based on India Ahead: Leading the New Age Economics Law (Focussing on Innovation, Investment and Impact) which included the panel discussions with eminent panellists/speakers from the corporate world and legal industry. The summit culminated with Achiever's Award 2019 recognizing those who have made a positive impact on the growth of & in the legal profession. The event saw the presence of Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President of Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and President of Bar Association of India, Bina Modi, Board Director, Godfrey Phillips India Limited, Bithika Anand Founder & CEO, Legal League and other dignitaries from the legal industry. Elated to receive the felicitation, Mr. Manoj K Singh, Founding Partner, S&A, said, “I am very glad to receive this prestigious award and feel privileged to be recognized in the legal profession. This award is an excellent morale-booster to continue serving the Legal Profession”. About Singh & Associates Singh & Associates, Founder - Manoj K. Singh, Advocates and Solicitors is an ISO 9001:2015 certified full-service law firm with offices at New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The firm has four major Practice Groups viz., Litigation and Alternate Dispute Resolution, Contracts and Transactions, Corporate and Tax and Intellectual Property. With an aim to provide a comprehensive array of services to both domestic and international clientele, the firm has 150 professionals including experienced lawyers (with in-house advocacy expertise), chartered accountants, company secretaries, trademark attorneys, patent attorneys, patent agents and engineers.

Authored by Hammurabi & Solomon Partners With the implementation of GST two years back, India has seen one of the biggest tax reformsfor the growth and revival of its economy. Post the journey of peaks & troughs, the GST regime is finally settling in to the needs of business cycle. The Government, with the theme of promoting ‘Ease of Doing Business’, is trying hard to make this reform simpler, business friendly and transparent in its functioning. Such measures can also be seen during this year’s budget speech of our Hon’ble Finance Minister, wherein announcements were made towards the simplification of GST. GSTing till 2019 and ahead!! Pravesh Khandelwal With the implementation of GST two years back, India has seen one of the biggest tax reforms for the growth and revival of its economy. Post the journey of peaks & troughs, the GST regime is finally settling in to the needs of business cycle. The Government, with the theme of promoting ‘Ease of Doing Business’, is trying hard to make this reform simpler, business friendly and transparent in its functioning. Such measures can also be seen during this year’s budget speech of our Hon’ble Finance Minister, wherein announcements were made towards the simplification of GST. Hits under GST ·  Roll out of a single simplified GST monthly return. Such simplified compliance driven measure is the need of the hour during current times where the industry is struggling to do compliances under GST, and is a welcome step; ·  Another big announcement made from compliance perspective is the proposed electronic invoice system wherein invoice details will be captured in a central system at the time of issuance. This will in-turn be used to pre-fill GST returns & will eventually eliminate the need for issuance of a separate E-Way Bill. The expected roll out date for such electronic invoicing system is January, 2020. The industry needs to gear itself for such a change; · The Budget announcement also included other such measures like availability of free accounting software for return preparation to small businesses. Further, a fully automated GST refund mechanism is also on the offering & has been very well appreciated by the industry; · Another welcome measure is the roll-out of Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme), 2019, wherein the Government has provided a one-time window to the industry to settle their disputes pertaining to (erstwhile) indirect tax laws. The assessee after complying with certain conditions of the scheme & post depositing certain  prescribed percentage of the tax dues, can get a relief available under the scheme and can put an end to its long- drawn litigation of (erstwhile) indirect tax laws. This measure was very much needed, anticipated and is likely to get a favourable response from the industry as more than Rs. 3.75 lakh crore is blocked in legacy litigations of service tax and excise.   Challenges under GST ·  GST collections have been the cause of concern for the Government. However, the trends are encouraging as the average monthly collection for April-June’ 2019 quarter stood at Rs. 1.04 trillion, up by 7% from corresponding period last year. Further, the Government by introducing a State Level Cess - “Kerala Flood Cess” @ 1% on intra-state supplies to end customers, effective 1st August, 2019, seem to be diluting the basic theme of GST – One Nation One Tax; · Yet another area of concern for the industry is the provision of Anti-Profiteering in GST. Though the Anti-Profiteering Authority has been granted an extended tenure of 2 years, till November 2021, but the Government has not yet released any guidelines as to how the pricing of the product needs to be arrived at by the industry, in order to be compliant with the anti-profiteering provisions in GST. ·    Processing of GST refunds to exporters of goods and services is another area of challenge. While the Government has taken several measures for speedy processing of refunds, but the real benefit has not been transitioned to the exporters at the ground level; However, with the series of above-mentioned steps aimed at widening the GST base, plugging tax evasion, countering the menace of fake invoices through E-invoicing etc, the road ahead for GST looks bright. Some of the measures which can be expected in GST in near future are: · Revamp and simplification of GST returns compliance perspective; · Rationalisation of GST rates on certain commodities & a mean rate by merging the current GST rate of 12% and 18%; · Expansion of Tax base by bringing non-GST products within the ambit of GST. To start with, the Government may consider bringing petroleum products within the GST ambit. We offer end to end services to its Clients under various legal domains, including Indirect Tax/GST. Our service offerings under Indirect Tax/GST inter-alia includes: Ø  Compliance related services like preparation and filing of GST returns; Ø  Assistance in GST Audits and reconciliations; Ø  Study on Anti-Profiteering; Ø  Assistance in filing GST refunds with tax authorities; Ø  Drafting of Writs/Advance Rulings/replies to SCNs and assistance in representation before various tax authorities/tribunals/Courts; Ø  Formulating a strategy for litigation prevention and litigation management for GST & (erstwhile) Indirect Tax laws; Ø  Advisory to Clients on complex issues in GST; Ø   Providing services under Customs (including SVB); Ø  Drafting of representations on various industry issues and liaising with tax authorities and CBIC for the same (the author is a tax partner with Hammurabi & Solomon Partners and can be reached at [email protected])

Ld’ Adjudicating Authority dismisses the Application under Section 7 by ICICI Bank against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects Private Limited a Special Purpose Vehicle related to Era Infra Engineering Limited. The Ld’ Adjudicating Authority (NCLT, Principal Bench, New Delhi) on 23.05.2019 dismissed the application filed under Section 7 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 against Hyderabad Ring Road Projects Private Limited, which is a Special Purpose Vehicle related to Era Infra Engineering Limited (one of the first 12 Companies, shortlisted by RBI to be proceeded under I&B Code 2016). M/s Hyderabad Ring Road Projects was represented by Mr. Vijay Kr Singh, Sr. Partner S&A before the NCLT. Apart from other arguments, one of the argument before the Ld’ Adjudicating Authority was that the ICICI Bank have not disclosed that their claim has already been accepted by the Resolution Professional appointed in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of the Era Infra Engineering Limited (the Corporate Guarantor). The Principal Bench had rejected the Application filed by ICICI Bank on the ground of duplicity of the claims since ICICI Bank have also filed its claim as Financial Creditor before the Resolution Professional appointed in the case of Era Infra Engineering Limited. While rejecting the application the Principal Bench held that on account of duplicity of the claims the petition cannot be entertained. It would be worth mentioning that earlier the Ld’ Tribunal have also rejected the application filed against the wholly owned subsidiary of Era Infra Engineering Limited namely M/s Era Infrastructure (India) Limited who was also represented by S&A.

Singh & Associates' (S&A) Founding Partner, Manoj K Singh, wins “Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year” Award at Indian Legal Awards 2018-19, Legal Era New Delhi, 19th March 2019: Singh & Associates’ (S&A) Founding Partner, Manoj K Singh, has been awarded the “Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year” at the recent Legal Era Indian Legal Awards 2018-19 held at Hotel Taj Lands End, Mumbai, India. He was felicitated with one of the most-coveted award of the country for his in-depth legal expertise and for providing innovative solutions to complex legal issues for over more than 14 years. The award was presented by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Verma, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Mr. Rafique Dada, Senior Advocate. Legal Era - Indian Legal Awards was focused on the Recognition of Legal Finesse, Innovation, & Accomplishments of legal professionals. The award ceremony recognises renowned legal professionals in different areas of legal practice. The legal practitioners providing extensive, innovative and dedicated legal assistance and who have immensely contributed to the advancement of the legal profession by helping in business, legal, policy reforms and practices, were honoured for their excellence and outstanding achievements. The event saw the presence of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipak Misra, Former Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice A. K. Sikri Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anoop Mohta, Former Judge, Bombay High Court, Mr. Ashok H. Desai, Senior Advocate, Mr. Aspi Chinoy, Senior Advocate, Mr. Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, Senior Advocate, Dr. Lalit Bhasin Founder of Bhasin & Co. and renowned lawyer and other dignitaries from the legal industry, policymakers, regulatory heads, jurists, industrialists, CEOs, CFOs, lawyers, corporate and academia in targeted discussions around globalization in a nationalistic global marketplace. The award ceremony held on the final day of the 8th Annual GENNEXT Business & Law Congress 2019 (15th - 16th March 2019) was themed on, “Globalisation for Business: Regulatory and Reputation Risks in a Nationalistic Global Marketplace”. Elated to receive the felicitation, Mr. Manoj K Singh, Founding Partner, S&A, said, “I would like to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who made it possible - our esteemed clients (for entrusting us with challenging opportunities, constant support and patronage), legal fraternity (for continued learning and support), our entire S&A family (some amazing and inspiring people whom I work with), my family and friends. I hope to continue my endeavour with a renewed zeal so that we achieve more and more success and recognition in the future too." About Singh & Associates Singh & Associates, Founder - Manoj K. Singh, Advocates and Solicitors is an ISO 9001:2015 certified full-service law firm with offices at New Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The Firm also has associate offices in various parts of the country and is well equipped to assist its clients on a pan-India basis. The firm has four major Practice Groups viz., Litigation and ADR, Contracts and Transactions, Corporate and Tax and Intellectual Property. With an aim to provide a comprehensive array of services to both domestic and international clientele, the firm has 120 professionals including experienced lawyers (with in-house advocacy expertise), chartered accountants, company secretaries, trademark attorneys, patent attorneys, engineers, and specialized paralegal staff.