The Legal 500 > Asia Pacific > India > Tax

Rohit Jain leads the tax practice at Economic Laws Practice, which offers the full suite of transactional, advisory and litigation support. Recent direct tax issues involved transfer pricing structuring and disputes while Nishant Shah led on indirect issues pertaining to GST transition strategy, customs tax, central sales tax and state levies. The firm routinely represents big-ticket global clients before all court levels in disputes concerning tax classification, valuation, exemption and refunds. Investigations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other authorities are regularly handled and niche expertise with issues concerning classifications under the SCOMET list is also provided. Exemplifying the firm's steady growth, a suite of partner promotions were made including Harsh Shah and Jitendra Motwani in Mumbai.

Khaitan & Co LLP's tax practice offers dedicated teams focusing on direct and indirect tax issues (the latter headed by Dinesh Agrawal), covering the full-spectrum of matters concerning international taxation, cross-border tax structuring, tax-efficient global M&A support, transfer pricing and GST compliance. The robust litigation team handles tax disputes through all judicial fora, with recent instructions concerning complex issues of contested tax liabilities, transfer pricing disputes, excise duty rebates and levies. The firm has an established reputation for contributing to national policy developments, which enables to team to provide market-leading regulatory knowledge to its clients.

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan is highly praised by peers for the full scope of tax litigation and advisory services provided by the likes of V Lakshmikumaran and Charanya Lakshmikumaran. Indirect tax expertise encompasses customs and excise duty, GST and VAT provisions and foreign trade policy, while direct tax expertise encompasses corporate and international taxation, transfer pricing and expatriate taxation.

L&L Partners Law Offices’ tax vertical enjoys a healthy split of tax litigation and transactional mandates. Recent court applications involved complex transfer pricing disputes and high-value service tax demands. Vikas Srivastava leads on direct tax issues while Jatinder Pal Singh is the go-to name for indirect tax; both lend their expertise to devising optimal tax structures on global M&A deals, business restructuring exercises and inbound and outbound investments.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co’ top-tier corporate offering is supported by a robust tax vertical which provides direct and indirect tax advice on M&A transactions, business restructuring exercises and joint ventures. Recent matters saw the team advising on state-specific excise duty, GST compliance, foreign trade policy and customs duty. The firm often represents clients in investigations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Directorate of Income Tax and other agencies.

Advaita Legal focuses on direct and indirect tax litigation for mostly domestic clients operating in sectors such as energy, natural resources, FMCG, financial services and tech. Recent mandates involved appearances before the upper courts in matters concerning GST backdating, RPT applicability, customs duty, liquor license fees and income tax. The firm also provides tax relief strategy and other advisory services such as contract structuring, legal due diligence and tax-efficient corporate restructuring assistance.

Initially established as a transfer pricing boutique (and still predominantly working in this field as a member of global network Altus Alliance), Amicus now acts on a wider set of mandates including GST compliance, international taxation, corporate advisory and niche tribunal representation concerning angel tax. Sole partner Ashutosh Mohan Rastogi is regularly instructed through the High Court on transfer pricing litigation for clients in sectors such as media, entertainment, manufacturing, IT, electronics and textiles. The team also helps to implement transfer pricing policy and risk mitigation strategy.

Mukesh Butani of boutique tax firm BMR Legal is a leading figure in the field of transfer pricing law. His team provides support with litigation, policy, regulatory advice and international taxation. Tarun Jain has recently rejoined the team, strengthening it’s GST, customs and trade offering. Other areas of expertise for the firm include foreign direct investment, exchange controls and IBC laws.

Recent contentious issues for the HSA Advocates tax offering involved the provision of newly implemented GST laws, contested tax burdens and niche matters regarding safeguard duties in the solar industry. The firm has a strength in international taxation matters, particularly concerning Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements and cross-border M&A transactions. Clients are sourced from sectors such as financial services, manufacturing, FMCG, healthcare, media and energy.

Kochhar & Co. provides direct and indirect tax advice to the firm’s corporate clients in support of large-scale transactions handled by the firm. Litigation partners are able to handle tax-related disputes when they arise.

Dua Associates advises large corporates on a range of taxation issues.

Gagrats provides a range of tax advisory services to support the large-scale aircraft and other transactions in the aviation sector that the firm is instructed on. Typical issues include assisting with tax indemnity negotiations, leasing transactions, GST compliance and TDS-related claims. The team also handles contentious tax claims before the High Court.

LexCounsel’s recent tax mandates involved advising a range of international clients on compliance with the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement. Other direct tax advice centred on income tax interpretations, while the team also advised on compliance with GST laws.

Direct tax matters at Phoenix Legal are handled by Abhishek Saxena, whose experience involves tax efficient transaction structuring (including joint ventures and M&A), foreign investment and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement compliance. Pranav Srivastava leads on indirect matters and also brings his tax expertise to commercial disputes.

Daizy Chawla leads on tax issues at Singh & Associates Founder – Manoj K Singh Advocates and Solicitors, providing expertise with indirect tax laws such as VAT, excise duty and GST.

TLC Legal specialises in the field of indirect tax, routinely acting on contentious issues before the CESTAT and other fora on disputes concerning customs duty, excise tax, VAT, Foreign Trade Policy and GST exemptions. Experts such as Vipin Jain and Vishal Agrawal also provide a robust advisory service to a healthy list of domestic clients.