Introduction
On 3rd May 2018, an ordinance amending the Commercial Courts,
Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High
Courts Act, 2015, ("Act") was promulgated. The ordinance
makes important changes to commercial litigation in India and comes
into force with immediate effect but applies only to proceedings
instituted after the commencement of the ordinance.
The significant changes are:
Specified value: The ordinance enables the State
Government to extend the Act to matters valued above INR Three
Lakhs (USD5,000 approx), whereas earlier it only applied to matters
above One Crore (USD150,000 approx).
Establishment of new commercial courts: State
governments are now authorized to establish distinct commercial
courts at the level subordinate to that of a High Court, even in
places where a High Court is a court of first instance.
