India: Corporate/Commercial Law

The Income-tax Act, 2025 has introduced significant changes to the taxation framework for charitable entities, now classified as registered not-for-profit organisations (NPOs). This article examines how the Finance Act, 2026 has recalibrated provisions governing cancellation of registration for NPOs engaged in general public utility objects, comparing the new framework with the Income-tax Act, 1961 to reveal both intended alignments and unintended departures.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced sweeping amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act framework through the 2026 Amendment Rules, fundamentally transforming how NGOs and not-for-profits receive and utilize foreign funding. These changes establish purpose-specific and geography-specific registration requirements, enhanced disclosure obligations including ultimate donor identification, and objective benchmarks for organizational activity. Will these reforms strengthen accountability

India is perhaps one of the first countries in the world to make a robust and mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) initiative which requires the corporations to contribute a portion of their earnings...

A modest regulatory penalty can sometimes carry a larger transaction lesson. The recent adjudication order involving Fyle Technologies Private Limited is a good example. The Registrar of Companies, Bengaluru, penalised the company and four of its directors for approving share transfers in physical form even though the transferors had not first dematerialised their holdings.

Structuring an acquisition carries real consequences for control, liability, tax treatment, and continuity of a target’s contracts and licenses. The reverse triangular merger (“RTM”), or reverse subsidiary merger, is among the most widely used structures in USA M&A practice for the way it treats the target after closing.

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) remain one of the most widely used instruments for venture capital and private equity investments in Indian companies. Their appeal lies in the ability to combine equity classification with negotiated economic and governance protections. But CCPS are not governed by a single, standalone statutory framework. Their legal treatment is instead shaped by the Companies Act, FEMA and foreign investment rules, tax law, and, where applicable, SEBI regulations.

A modest regulatory penalty can sometimes carry a larger transaction lesson. The recent adjudication order involving Fyle Technologies Private Limited is a good example. The Registrar of Companies, Bengaluru, penalised the company and four of its directors for approving share transfers in physical form even though the transferors had not first dematerialised their holdings.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 decriminalises numerous minor offences across central laws and introduces civil penalties and administrative adjudication mechanisms. This article analyses the key enforcement priorities and implementation challenges for regulatory bodies, inspectors, and district-level administrators to ensure effective transition from criminal prosecution to compliance-oriented governance.

Businesses increasingly depend on global cloud infrastructure, international group companies, overseas vendors and remote service providers. As a result, cross-border data transfers have become an important legal and operational issue for organisations operating in India.

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) remain one of the most widely used instruments for venture capital and private equity investments in Indian companies. Their appeal lies in the ability to combine equity classification with negotiated economic and governance protections. But CCPS are not governed by a single, standalone statutory framework. Their legal treatment is instead shaped by the Companies Act, FEMA and foreign investment rules, tax law, and, where applicable, SEBI regulations.

Over the years, Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has introduced a series of reforms to refine the winding-up framework governing Alternative Investment Funds (“AIFs”). Through these changes, SEBI has sought to make the winding-up process more practical and comprehensive, addressing the various issues that arise at the end of a fund’s tenure and improving the overall framework for closure of AIFs.

India's capital markets regulator has rolled out one of its most significant ease-of-doing-business reforms for foreign investors in recent years. The Single Window Automatic and Generalised Access for Trusted Foreign Investors framework, known as SWAGAT-FI, consolidates and simplifies registration for a defined category of low-risk foreign portfolio investors and foreign venture capital investors.