Tax in India

Economic Laws Practice ‘has a fantastic blend of advisory and dispute resolution expertise, and is exceptional in tax’ across the full spectrum of direct and indirect matters. Rohit Jain heads the team alongside Nishant Shah; both offer advice on indirect tax controversies including anti-profiteering disputes and transitioning credits following the implementation of GST. Jain and Kumar Visalaksh ‘are able to straddle their advisory and litigation roles with finesse’, while Visalaksh attracts further praise for ‘an approach which is preventive rather than curative’. On the direct tax side, matters range from transfer pricing issues to tax arrangements during corporate transactions, as well as inbound and outbound investment structuring. The firm also leverages its international commerce expertise to assist with customs valuations and foreign trade policy queries. Other significant names include Harsh Shah and Rahul Khurana, who made partner in April 2021.

Khaitan & Co LLP‘s ‘responsive and thoughtful team’ is split into direct and indirect tax practices with an impressive pan-India presence. The firm’s full-service, integrated approach also means the breadth of its contentious and non-contentious offering is vast; recent matters include advising on acquisitions for high-end private equity funds and representing multinational corporates in transfer pricing litigation. On the direct tax side, Indruj Rai  ‘stands out for his practical advice’ and is a ‘very engaged and hands-on lawyer’, while Sanjay Sanghvi is ‘thorough, diligent and has a deep understanding of rules, tax codes and procedures’; Ritu Shaktawat and Bijal Ajinkya are other key players in the transactional space. Elsewhere, Dinesh Agrawal and Arvind Baheti provide the principal support on indirect tax instructions. The practice recently welcomed Sudipta Bhattacharjee from Advaita Legal, and Udayan Choksi from VoxLaw India, in spring 2021.

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan‘s general ‘know-how as well as soft and interpersonal skills‘ supplement its ‘patient and very even-tempered‘ team, which has particular expertise in handling indirect tax matters. Founding partner V. Lakshmikumaran is the key name here, along with Ravi Raghavan and Charanya Lakshmikumaran, for whom recent work has included litigation over the carrying forward of credit to the newly implemented GST regime. There is also a significant direct tax offering, led principally by S. Vasudevan and Amar Gahlot, featuring advice on income tax assessments, M&A transactions, corporate expansions and transfer pricing disputes before the ITAT. The practice also has a reputation for establishing new jurisprudence; it recently represented camara companies Sony, Nikon and Canon in Supreme Court proceedings which established the jurisdiction of the Indian tax investigations authorities.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co‘s practice counts high-profile global corporates and private equity funds among its clients, providing advice on direct (income and corporation) tax issues accompanying M&A deals, foreign investments and large-scale reorganisations. Other focus areas include digital taxation as well as audits, investigations and appeals before domestic and international appellate bodies. Amit Singhania, Gouri Puri, Abhay Sharma and Rajat Bose are the key contacts.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas ‘specialises in complex tax issues and is able to offer commercially workable solutions‘ on matters ranging from investment structurings to corporate reorganisations. Cyril Shroff co-heads the practice alongside SR Patnaik, who garners client praise for being ‘pragmatic in his approach‘ – particularly when advising on international tax treaties and M&A transactions. The team also handles disputes instructions, with ongoing involvement in a series of proceedings before the High Court of Telangana regarding import policy for maize corn under the domestic foreign trade policy, on behalf of Gourmet Popcornica. The team saw the departures of Mekhla Anand and Daksha Baxi – the latter to set up her own practice – but was strengthened at partner level by the promotion of Kunal Savani in spring 2021.

Majmudar & Partners has become ‘a one-stop service‘ for international corporate clients and high-net-worth investors with tax issues pertaining to transfer pricing, permanent establishment and fund structuring from overseas. The practice is also experienced at handling domestic employee tax and ESOPs work, with Akil Hirani being well-versed in structuring equity compensation plans and M&A-related reorganisations. Ravi Raghavan remains ‘responsive and efficient‘ alongside fellow department co-head Hirani, particularly while forming litigation strategy. Rukshad Davar is another key name, particularly for US-based clients such as NapCloud, when preparing documentation for GST exemptions from service exports.

Trilegal‘s tax department contains a ‘strong team of people, able to deliver clear answers to tough questions‘ from a multinational client base including financial services, manufacturing and software service companies. Himanshu Sinha, who ‘has exceptional knowledge and commercial understanding‘, leads the team alongside Samsuddha Majmuder; both cover direct and indirect tax-related matters, including transfer pricing litigation, M&A deals, customs issues and regulatory investigations. At counsel level, Komal Dani and Nameer Khan provide strong support, particularly when assisting on international tax and foreign trade policy mandates. Among various new hires in 2020 and 2021, counsel Shashank Shekhar and senior associate Tushar Joshi joined from Advaita Legal.

Amicus is ‘seamlessly innovating to bring in newer tax offerings‘ alongside its established handle on transfer pricing issues and litigation. Practice head Ashutosh Mohan Rastogi ‘stands out for his versatility‘, with an increased focus on GST advice as well as customs valuations. In a recent victory for Cinestaan Entertainment before the Delhi High Court, Rastogi secured a stay order from the tax tribunal following the rejection of a fair market value assessment, which will aid future relief for start-ups and angel investors.

At HSA Advocates, the firm has a notable focus on tax-related disputes and represents its clients during adjudications and proceedings before the High Courts. It has also developed a strong reputation in the energy sector – particularly the solar industry – thanks to Faranaaz Kharbari and Rahul Jain, who are well versed in power purchase agreement regulations and in contesting any associated entry tax levies. Other areas of work range from the direct and indirect tax implications of business reorganisations to advice on compliance frameworks.

Phoenix Legal‘s expertise lies in cross-border reorganisations and advisory work often pertaining to GST, transfer pricing and tax avoidance agreements. Abhishek Saxena, Pranav Srivastava and Saket Shukla have recently advised on restructuring agreements between domestic subsidiaries of multinationals and their overseas group companies, as well as the outright tax structuring of new investments into India. Manjula Chawla is another key name to note, acting for a client roster that features names from the manufacturing, energy, retail and technology sectors. In September 2021, the team was bolstered by the arrival of Jatin Arora who joined from PwC India to lead the indirect tax practice.

S&A Law Offices‘ practice was significantly boosted by the August 2020 arrival of indirect tax specialist Smita Singh from Ashok Dhingra Associates. Singh co-leads the ‘highly knowledgeable and vastly experienced’ team alongside managing partner Daizy Chawla, who in turn handles direct and international transfer pricing-related matters. Clients range from global corporates to domestic infrastructure providers, while typical advisory work includes evaluating GST issues, customs duty refunds and assessing double taxation avoidance treaties.

Fox Mandal‘s tax practice expanded in 2020 with the arrival of Mumbai and Pune-based international tax specialist Sandip Mukherjee, previously a tax partner at Deloitte India, as well as Bangalore-based Gopala Rao, a former chief commissioner of income tax. Mukherjee and Rao lead the practice with indirect tax specialist Pramod Banthia and director Ranganath Harirao, both also in Bangalore. Matters typically involve GST claims, tax incidence and transfer pricing regulations and the structuring of share purchase agreements.