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Friday, August 21, 2009

Direct Tax Code Bill - Highlights from Trak.in

Congress Party seems to have played a masterstroke here. After not so impressive budget, they have announced something that will make the common man scream with Joy.

In fact the Government has unveiled the draft of a brand new direct tax law, which will replace the four-decade Income-Tax Act. The new code will completely overhaul and simplify the existing tax proposals for not only individual tax payers, but also corporate houses and foreign residents.

The new Tax draft has given Common man more than what he had expected – There is a drastic reduction (at least, it looks like that prima facie) on the amount of taxes most of the employed people will pay going forward. Its not only individuals, its also India Inc. who should be extremely happy, the tax code bill released has not left them out – lot of goodies for them as well.

Now there is a caveat, this draft Tax code will be discussed in parliament in the winter session and if it gets the green signal will be implemented for assessment year 2011. So we have atleast couple of years to live with current Tax structure.

Here are some of the simplified Highlights of the the Draft Tax Code bill (I have highlighted the ones that are important):

  1. Lowers the incidence of tax on corporate and individual incomes
  2. Reintroduces wealth tax and capital gains tax, albeit at lower levels
  3. Scope of income tax expanded to include value of perks, gifts, profit in lieu of salary and capital gains but excludes farm income
  4. Removal of most exemptions
  5. All long-term savings to come under EET
  6. Tax exemption to PPF and other pension schemes on withdrawals accumulated up to March 31, 2011.
  7. The code proposes to abolish STT.
  8. Capital gains on shares and securities to be taxed as income.
  9. Distinction between long-term and short-term capital assets to go.
  10. Wealth tax cap to be hiked to Rs 500mn.
  11. Wealth to be taxed on net basis; Amount in excess of Rs500mn to be taxed at 0.25%
  12. Moves the base year for calculation of capital gains tax to April 2000
  13. Hike in tax deduction limit on savings to Rupees 3 lakhs
  14. Higher income tax slabs, lowering net payable taxes.
    • New tax slab
      Up to Rs1.6 lakh: No tax
      10% tax for income between Rs160,000 and Rs10,00,000
      20% tax for income between Rs10,00,000 and Rs25,00,000
      30% tax for income over Rs25,00,000
  15. Proposes highest tax rate of 30% on income of over Rs 25 lakh
  16. Tax breaks on housing to be removed
  17. Dividend will continue to be tax-free in the hands of investors
  18. Effective corporate tax rate at 25% with no surcharge or cess
  19. MAT to be levied on gross assets as against book profits now
  20. MAT to be 0.25% for banking and 2% for others
  21. MAT carry forward to be disallowed
  22. Business losses to be carried forward indefinitely
  23. No tax deduction on interest payable on any government security
  24. Wealth tax liability to be discharged by payment of prepaid taxes
  25. Income from certain transfers not to be treated as capital gains
  26. Rationalization of taxes for all non-profit organizations
  27. Annual disclosure of profits of non-life insurance businesses
  28. Govt may enter overseas agreements for double taxation avoidance
  29. No tax deduction on interest payable to banking firms and insurers

The most important is point no. 14, essentially what it proposes is

Salaried employee will be exempted of income up to Rs 1,60,000 a year from tax. Income up to Rs 10 lakh will be taxed at 10%, 10-25 lakh at 20% and beyond Rs 25 lakh at 30%. Currently, there is no tax till Rs 1,60,000 of income in a year. However, there is a 10% tax on income between Rs 1,60,000 and Rs 3 lakh, 20% between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, and 30% beyond Rs 5 lakh.

Here is the complete 256 page Draft Tax Code Bill. Click

Source - Trak.in

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Law Firm Scene in India - Legal 500

India centric Editorial in http://www.legal500.com/c/india

Despite surging inflation and the stock market losses of 2008, India’s upwardly mobile middle class continues to reap the financial gains of a buoyant economy. Consequently, the legal community is enjoying an unprecedented range of work, and in the last year found itself especially busy with telecoms, automotive and energy clients. Incoming funds work also remains lively, especially within the real estate and infrastructure sectors, and private equity continues to dominate the M&A scene.


However, despite persistent lobbying and clear incentives for domestic law firms to grow, The Partnership Act still limits each Indian firm to 20 partners, and local firms are prohibited from constructing websites or otherwise advertising their services. The restrictions limit growth options both domestically and internationally, although many practitioners continue to regard them as promoting stability, continuity and identity within the legal community. A handful of law firms are rumoured to have opened up additional offices under different names to circumvent this legislation but the legal market comprises small and mid-sized firms, often either family-run or in the form of sole proprietorships. Control of even the biggest firms is frequently found in the hands of a select few.


Pursuant to a 1996 High Court decision regarding the Advocates Act, foreign law firms are not permitted to give any form of legal advice on Indian soil and so operations are necessarily restricted to advising on matters of international law from offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York or London. Increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) into an ever-broader range of sectors, buoyant IT and outsourcing markets, and growing competition from international firms have prompted several local practices to prepare themselves for any changes. For example, a number have engaged in knowledge exchanges with foreign law firms, improved response times and made billing more transparent.


Meanwhile, the market for India-related work for foreign firms continues to develop, particularly in the financial services and corporate sectors; more and more outbound M&A is taking place, the most recent example being Indian giant Tata’s historic acquisition of Land Rover/Jaguar from Ford for US$2.3bn.


A number of foreign practices - including the likes of Linklaters LLP, Ashurst LLP and White & Case LLP- have liaison offices in the country, although in theory their activities are currently limited to marketing exercises. However, with the Indian business sector increasingly opening up to foreign investment, it is surely only a matter of time before India honours its WTO commitments, the restrictions are relaxed, and foreign firms are allowed to operate to some extent. Last November, the Indian Law Minister’s liberalisation paper proposed allowing foreign law firms to practise foreign law in India, but this met with a frosty reception from certain quarters of India’s legal community. Many domestic lawyers concede it is time for India to open up but insist that the playing field be level and the question of reciprocity resolved. Understandably, they ask why foreign lawyers should be allowed to practice in Indian courts when Indian lawyers cannot appear before foreign courts. Nonetheless, this perplexes UK lawyers only interested in transactional work and who have no great urge to appear before Indian courts, especially when considering that Indian law firms Fox Mandal Little and ALMT Legal have already opened up shop in London.


Other fears are indeed tangible. When foreign firms are eventually permitted entry, it may be that local firms, although relatively inexpensive, suffer an exodus of clients, not to mention talented lawyers being attracted by the spoils of foreign lockstep systems, unless the marketing and advertising restrictions imposed are finally relaxed. Even then, many Indian firms may not be able to compete with the internationals despite fielding high-quality lawyers and the advantage of local knowledge.


The UK’s Justice Minister Bridget Prenticerecently visited India to talk to Indian government representatives about this thorny issue. In June, members of the Bombay Bar Association and the Bombay Incorporated Law Society were invited to visit England and Wales’ highest courts of law as part of an attempt to promote mutual understanding. Notwithstanding such goodwill exercises, the Indian Government is facing 2009 spring elections and it looks unlikely that any real market opening will be achieved before 2010.


Meanwhile, Indian lawyers are already switching allegiances more readily than at any other time. Projects specialist Sumantu Baso recently left Trilegal for J Sagar Associates and, after several years at Mumbai-based Kanga & Co, corporate partner Kalpana Merchant headed forAZB & Partners. Manjula Chawla departed Kochhar & Co after 13 years to join Trilegal as counsel. M&A partner Nihar Mody, who only last year left Wadia Ghandy & Co for UK firmFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, has already returned to found Platinum Partners with Karam Daulet-Singh, formerly of Daulet-Singh & Associates.


When, back in 2006, Shobhan Thakore and Suresh Talwar teamed up to found Talwar Thakore & Associates, a domestic practice very closely associated with top international firmLinklaters LLP, the move shook up the local legal community. In 2008, the talking point tie-up was the non-exclusive, non-financial arrangement entered into between UK legal powerhouse Allen & Overy LLP and Indian firm Trilegal. Some domestic law firms interviewed remain suspicious of such arrangements, regarding them as cynical attempts by UK firms to circumvent India’s Bar rules by getting into bed with Indian legal practices.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co clearly remains the leading commercial firm in the country, and features in most of the biggest corporate deals. It has offices in all four of the country’s biggest cities and boasts over 300 lawyers. However, while it has many extremely talented lawyers, and has made efforts in recent years to broaden its management structure, it is nevertheless somewhat dominated by one family. It suffered notable losses when star litigator M P Bharucha, his corporate lawyer wife Alka Bharucha and nine associates recently departed the Mumbai office to form spin-off law firm Bharucha & Partners.


Progressive multi-office firms with more democratic structures are also emerging and may appeal to the country’s up-and-coming legal talent. Prime examples include J Sagar Associates and Trilegal, the latter recently becoming the first Indian firm to introduce a lockstep system for its attorneys. The former is a star performer of recent years, with its superb infrastructure law credentials now complemented by an enhanced corporate and finance capacity in its Mumbai office. It can presently justifiably claim a place as one of the country’s three leading corporate law firms, alongside the previously mentioned Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co, and also AZB & Partners, which in Zia Mody and Ajay Bahl has two of the country’s top practitioners.


Other firms of national scale include Fox Mandal Little, following the 2006 merger of Fox Mandal with Mumbai finance stalwarts Little & Co. It recently celebrated the opening of an office in London.

Khaitan & Co. has been going from strength to strength, garnering excellent market feedback. The firm is an example of the way family businesses can dominate in India, with the Khaitan family forming the backbone of not just Khaitan & Co., but also of Delhi firmsSuman Khaitan & Co and O.P. Khaitan & Co. Solicitors and Advocates.


The nature of firms and offices in each of India’s key legal centres varies considerably. The work of firms in Bangalore and Chennai largely reflects the booming outsourcing and technology clusters in those centres, and the same can be said for Hyderabad and Pune. Kolkata remains a bastion of the traditional family firm, its decline as a commercial centre having encouraged local outfits to expand into other more lucrative state jurisdictions. Khaitan & Co. and Fox Mandal Little both have roots in the city.


Home of the Supreme Court, it is no surprise New Delhi houses a number of top litigation practices. These include P H Parekh & Co, whose senior partner P H Parekh was last year re-elected for a third term as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Kachwaha & Partners, Karanjawala and Company, Bhasin & Co and a number of influential litigation boutiques and sole practitioners. It is a world where highly talented and highly paid counsel rub shoulders with the nation’s power brokers, where there is fierce rivalry between law firms and with little love lost. The city also has significant corporate practices as well as first-class capital markets practices like S&R Associates. In addition, it is a site well positioned for large-scale infrastructure and power projects.


Business and finance-focused Mumbai has a much more genial legal community, with a spirit of getting deals done. Traditional corporate stalwarts like Crawford Bayley & Co andMulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe- where many practitioners have decades of experience and historical links to India’s biggest and oldest companies - work alongside up-and-coming outfits, such as DSK Legal, Thakker & Thakker, Majmudar & Co and ALMT Legal. Mumbai also boasts excellent banking boutiques, such as Dave & Girish & Co andJuris Corp.


Potential clients should note that when visiting firms in Delhi or Mumbai, no judgement should be made based on the humble appearance of some practices’ offices. Modesty is a prime characteristic among Indians and this is often reflected in its lawyers and their working surroundings. Many would regard a plush office as showy and inappropriate, and domestic clients may not be impressed by such displays. There is no correlation between the glossiness of a firm’s marketing efforts and the quality of its work in India, and the same goes for premises. There are also proximity issues at play. In Delhi, many top firms are based in houses in the residential Kailash area or even further out in family farms, while in Mumbai most are clustered around the downtown Nariman Point and Fort areas. The primary reason for this is easy access to the courts in cities where poor infrastructure can make cross-town journeys a marathon. The gleaming office towers and business parks associated with India’s booming economy that have sprung up elsewhere, often in out-of-town sites, are often not suitable either to Delhi or Mumbai law practices. That said, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s Mumbai practitioners work from an impressively ornate business park building out in the suburbs, while Anand and Anand relocated its Delhi lawyers last year to a swish new location in Noida’s Film City. Now that New Delhi is so tightly squeezed for quality office space, law firms like J Sagar Associates are taking on additional premises in Gurgaon and looking forward to completion of the new highway that will link this fresh commercial hub to New Delhi’s city centre.

Source - Legal 500

Monday, August 17, 2009

ALB 50 2009: Asia's Largest Law Firms


For law firms around the world, it is been a tumultuous and transformative year – one in which growth and decline have come hand in hand. On one hand, the global legal services industry has experienced what has been considered the worst financial crisis since the depression, forcing law firms to downsize and scrap growth plans. On the other, some firms have ploughed on and opened new offices, continued at normal recruitment levels or forged alliances. Meanwhile, a broader debate circulates in the industry – whether law firms must drastically change the way they operate. Whether firms that have adopted alternative business models will be able to continue their growth as the downturn really bites is yet to be seen. More certain is that an impressive number of firms, especially domestic firms just outside the very top tier, have managed an equally impressive rate of growth over the past 12 months.

ALB 50: Asia’s largest firms

Rank

Firm

Total lawyers & partners

Country of origin

Asia managing partner/chairman(s)

Lawyers (Asia)

Partners (Asia)

Offices in Asia

1.

Dacheng

835

China

Wang Zhongde

503

332

28

2.

Baker & McKenzie

821

US

Poh Lee Tan

574

247

14

3.

King & Wood

800

China

Wang Ling, Wang Junfeng

610

190

16

4.

DeHeng

675

China

Wang Li

590

85

14

5.

FoxMandal Little

450

India

Som Mandal

400

50

14

6.

Nishimura & Asahi

440

Japan

Akira Kosugi

358

82

1

7.

Kim & Chang

430

Korea

Young Moo Kim

310

120

1

8.

Grandall

419

China

Multiple

317

102

10

9.

Amarchand & Mangaldas

410

India

Shardul S Shroff, Cyril S Shroff

374

36

5

10.

Jun He

338

China

Xiao Wei

260

78

7

11.

JSM (operates in association with Mayer Brown and Mayer Brown International)

336

Hong Kong/ US

Elaine Lo

257

79

7

12.

Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

332

Japan

Kenichi Fujinawa

265

67

1

13.

Allen & Overy

315

UK

Thomas Brown

249

66

9

13.

AllBright

315

China

Multiple

244

71

5

15.

Lee & Ko

312

Korea

Yong Suk Yoon

211

101

2

16.

Allen & Gledhill

310

Singapore

Lucien Wong

196

114

1

17.

Linklaters

300

UK

Zili Shao

249

51

6

17.

Longan

300

China

Xu Jiali

250

50

5

19.

Zhong Lun

296

China

Zhang XueBing

208

88

5

20.

Clifford Chance

292

UK

Peter Charlton

236

56

6

21.

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

286

Japan

Multiple

205

81

3

22.

Yoon Yang Kim Shin & Yu

282

Korea

Dong-Geul Byun

204

78

3

22.

Kangda

282

China

Fu Yang

227

55

11

23.

TMI Associates

271

Japan

Katsuro Tanaka

214

57

2

24.

Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

263

Japan

Multiple

197

66

2

25.

Zhongyin

262

China

Zhao Zenghai

226

36

16

26.

DLA Piper

255

UK

Alastair Da Costa

205

50

6

27.

Drew & Napier

250

Singapore

Davinder Singh

167

83

1

28.

Guanghe

248

China

Tong Xin

166

82

3

29.

Rajah & Tann

243

Singapore

Steven Chong

126

117

2

30.

Bae, Kim & Lee

242

Korea

Y. S. Oh

242

73

3

31.

WongPartnership

241

Singapore

Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara

170

71

2

32.

FreshfieldsBruckhaus Deringer

234

UK & Germany

Simon Marchant

206

28

6

33.

Jones Day

223

US

Multiple

169

54

7

34.

Shin & Kim

215

Korea

Doo-Sik Kim

155

60

2

34.

Zhonglun W & D

215

China

Zhang Derong

180

35

11

36.

AZB & Partners

200

India

Multiple

185

19

4

37.

Guantao

199

China

Cui Liguo

156

43

10

38.

Herbert Smith

195

UK

Multiple

151

44

6

39.

White & Case

195

US

Barrye Wall

150

45

7

40.

Lovells

189

UK

Crispin Rapinet

157

32

7

41.

Luthra & Luthra

186

India

Rajiv Luthra

160

26

3

41.

Morrison & Foerster

186

US

Multiple

135

51

5

43.

Deacons

180

Hong Kong

Lindsay Esler

133

47

4

44.

Khaitan & Co

178

India

Haigreve Khaitan

144

34

4

44.

Jincheng Tongda & Neal

178

China

Tian Yu

123

55

7

46.

Yulchon

167

Korea

Woo, Chang Rok

125

42

2

47.

Paul HastingsJanofsky & Walker

157

US

Multiple

118

39

4

48.

Global Law Offices

150

China

Liu Jinrong

110

40

2

47.

Tian Yuan

150

China

Wang Lihua

114

36

2

50.

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

148

Philippines

Llewellyn Llanillo

104

44

Domestic Asian firms, with their broader and often more anti-cyclical bases of work and clients, have either held on to their rankings or have registered impressive growth – sometimes through acquisitions of smaller firms and boutiques (in Korea, Hwang Mok Park recently merged with Hanseung), sometimes through aggressive programs of office openings (such as in the case of new top-ranked firm Dacheng in China). The performance of Korea’s chasing pack of firms has been particularly impressive.

India

Rank

Firm

Total lawyers & partners

Managing partner(s)

Total lawyers

Total partners

Offices

1.

FoxMandal Little*

450

Som Mandal

400

50

17

2.

Amarchand & Mangaldas

436

Shardul Shroff, Cyril Shroff

394

42

5

3.

AZB & Partners

204

Zia Mody, Ajay Bahl, Bahram Vakil

185

19

4

4.

Luthra & Luthra

186

Rajiv Luthra

160

26

3

5.

Khaitan & Co

178

Haigreve Khaitan

144

34

4

6.

J Sagar Associates

160

Jyoti Sagar, Berjis Desai

123

37

5

7.

Trilegal*

104

Management by committee

90

14

4

8.

ALMT Legal

95

Sakate Khaitan, Aliff Fazelbhoy

80

15

3

9.

Thakker & Thakker

60

Bijesh Thakker

53

7

3

10.

Titus & Co Advocates

49

Diljeet Titus

40

9

9


But with the GFC comes the spectre of slashed external legal spending by clients strapped for cash. As these companies search for efficiencies, one wonders whether more will follow the lead of mining giant Rio Tinto, which recently chose to outsource low-end work to 12 lawyers in India through the partnership with outsourcing firm CPA Global. “We’ve seen a number of different shifts in work around the world,” says Joanne Hon, CPA’s Hong Kong manager. “A lot of clients have been very receptive to moving work to lower cost centres with good human resources such as India, so the next trend will definitely be LPO.” The deal is said to save Rio Tinto around 20% in its estimated external legal spend of around US$100m. What we’re seeing here is shrinkage in the pie itself, not just how big each firms’ slice is.
However, no-one can argue with the numbers. And nowehere are the numbers bigger than in China.
As China’s prominence in the global economy grows, so too it seem, its law firms have followed. This year, the ALB 50 list includes as many as 16 firms from the PRC. Chinese firms have shown that they are emerging as serious contenders against the longer-established industry heavyweights, and some are even launching offices in regions more often targeted by international firms: Zhonglun W & D has just announced plans to launch a branch office in Riyadh, making it the first PRC firm in the Middle East.



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