Corporate · Tax · Labour · Regulatory
A decision should hold up under every law it touches.
Most advice looks at one statute at a time. We look at all of them together, so a structure that works under company law doesn’t trip on labour law, run foul of FEMA, or cost more in tax than it should.
One decision
Moving a business division into a new company
Company law
Is it permitted, and properly authorised?
Income tax
What does it cost now, and in five years?
GST & stamp duty
Is the transfer itself taxable?
Labour law
Which employees move, and what is owed to them?
FEMA
Does foreign shareholding need approval?
Contracts
Do existing agreements allow the move?
We answer all six before we advise, not one at a time.
28 years
in the Indian Revenue Service, including as Commissioner of Income-tax
2005
Member of the Ministry of Finance Expert Group on simplifying Income-tax law
12+
national and international takeovers, mergers and private equity deals
Co-author
A to Z of Capital Gains Tax in India
Our approach
Legally sound, and workable in practice.
The firm was set up to give companies holistic legal advice, grounded in how businesses in India actually operate. It brings together expertise across tax, corporate, labour and regulatory law, so the advice you get has already been tested against all of them.
Seen from both sides
Decades on the Revenue’s side of the table means we know how a structure will be read before it is tested.
One desk, every statute
Corporate, tax, labour, FEMA and property questions are answered together, not passed between firms.
Built for operators
Advice that fits the realities of running a company, not just the letter of the law.
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” is easier said than done. Not because the subject is unwilling to part with his money as tax, but because of the genuine and inherent difficulty of determining exactly what is payable to the State.
From A to Z of Capital Gains Tax in India, co-authored by Ashok Garg
Practice areas
What we advise on
Each area stands on its own. Most matters draw on several at once.
01
Direct & international tax
Tax planning for companies and individuals, transfer pricing, withholding tax, and representation before every appellate authority up to the High Court.
02
Indirect tax
Advice on indirect taxes and customs, responding to audit objections and show-cause notices, and conducting litigation at the appeal stage.
03
Mergers, acquisitions & restructuring
Takeovers, mergers and tax-efficient restructuring, with SHAs, SPAs and the documentation behind private equity funding.
04
Company law & compliance
Forming companies, LLPs and partnerships, obtaining permissions and registrations, and supervising periodic filings, including TDS and labour returns.
05
Contracts & documentation
Commercial agreements, MOUs and LOIs, NDAs, joint ventures, technology collaboration and software services agreements, and employment documents.
06
Labour & employment
Labour law compliance and disputes, workplace policies including prevention of sexual harassment, and the employee side of every transaction.
07
Due diligence & real estate
Legal due diligence for joint ventures and acquisitions, title and encumbrance searches, conveyancing, leases and registration.
08
Audit & assurance
Statutory and tax audits, internal, management and investigative audits, and certification work, through our associate chartered accountants.
09
Intellectual property
Advice on protecting intellectual property rights, and on how they move in a transaction or restructuring.
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Founder
Ashok Garg, Advocate
A law graduate who joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1979, he spent 28 years in the Department: supervising its litigation at the Central Board of Direct Taxes, leading investigations of the country’s largest industrial houses in Mumbai, and serving as Commissioner of Income-tax and Commissioner (Appeals).
Since founding the firm, he has been principal tax and legal advisor to a multinational group and has worked on more than a dozen takeovers, mergers and private equity transactions.
Associates
Lawyers and chartered accountants, under one brief
Anchal Agarwal
Formerly in Mergers & Acquisitions at PwC. Company law, restructurings, merger schemes, international tax, FEMA and SEBI.
Anil Shah
36 years in audit and taxation, representation before tax and regulatory authorities, and arbitration.
Arvind K. Jain
Statutory, internal and tax audits, company formation, and representation at assessment and first appeal.
Ishwar Singh Sangwan
Real estate, labour disputes and consumer matters at district level; title searches and property due diligence.
Dr. Saltanat Sherwani Mirza
Commercial agreements and statutory compliance for companies and NGOs.
Writing
Notes for business leaders
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Choice of applicable law: Conflict of law clause
Conflict of law clause is incorporated in an agreement to take care of situations where the Parties to the Contract belong to two different jurisdictions. Applicable…
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Setting up and use of Private Trusts
Private trusts are generally used to put aside properties for special purposes and to ring-fence the assets from being frittered away by the vagaries of business…
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Legal structure to use for your new business
When you think about starting a business, you think about the product/service you’d sell, who your customers would be, what you will charge, how you will…