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Maharshi Shah

Associate in the General Corporate Practice at Mumbai office Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Maharshi can be reached at maharshi.shah@cyrilshroff.com

Identifying SBO in Pooled Investment Vehicles: Conundrum Continues

Summary: Identifying SBOs, especially if the member of a reporting company in India is a pooled investment vehicle of an overseas jurisdiction, continues to be a big challenge. The Indian SBO Rules provide for two different sets of tests for identifying an SBO, basis the PIV’s location. If a PIV is from a FATF compliant jurisdiction, the test is much simpler, vis-a- vis PIVs from non-compliant jurisdictions, which require more detailed scrutiny. This blog analyses several interpretative challenges that continue to bother both PIVs and reporting companies, requiring MCA clarification.Continue Reading Identifying SBO in Pooled Investment Vehicles: Conundrum Continues

Allocation of CSR Funds: Need for more equitable distribution

Context

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) introduced the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) for the first time through the Voluntary Guidelines on CSR, 2009. These guidelines encouraged companies to formulate policies to undertake CSR, provide for its strategic planning and a roadmap for its CSR initiatives. As a mandatory legal requirement, CSR was first codified in Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 (“CA 2013”). As recognized in the 21st Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Companies Bill, 2009, this was the first time in India, and also probably in the world that CSR was being introduced as a mandatory requirement.Continue Reading Allocation of CSR Funds: Need for more equitable distribution