"Deal"ing With Non-Compliances

In contrast to the global trend, M&A and other investment activity in India has seen steady growth over the last year. There has also been a significant recovery from the downturn in deal activity between 2022 and 2023 in India.

To support this growth, simplifying compliances and promoting ease of doing business in India has been a mantra of the Indian government for some time now. However, India has historically been, and continues to be, a compliance-heavy jurisdiction, with the extent of prescribed compliances and existing non-compliances by intended targets often coming as a surprise to investors who are used to doing business in less compliance intensive jurisdictions.

However, not all non-compliances are show-stoppers and it is important to assess their potential impact not only on the deal at hand, but also on any future plans of the investor for the target. An upfront impact assessment ensures that the non-compliances are dealt with in a commercially