The recent ruling of the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign
Exchange, New Delhi (Appellate Tribunal) in the
matter of Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited and Ors.
v. The Special Director Directorate of Enforcement,
Bangalore, provides an interesting analysis of
recognized principles of law vis-à-vis liabilities of
officers in default and imposition of penalties under the Foreign
Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
The dispute in this case involved imposition of penalties under
FEMA on Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited (JIPL),
EM Sporting Holdings Ltd. (EMSH), M/s ND
Investments LLP and certain individuals including Suresh Chellaram
and Manoj Badale by the Special Director, Enforcement Directorate,
Mumbai. The matter concerned 3 overseas remittances (approximately
INR 33 crores) made into India for the purpose of setting up and
functioning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team –
Rajasthan Royals.