We are a family of strong 800+ people including 480+ professionals working from 14 locations across India.
We have a rich heritage and enduring legacy which are pivotal in shaping trust, excellence, and unparalleled legal expertise, thus building a strong reputation and a trusted brand.
We started in 1985 in a single room set up by the two founders with no prior experience of working in a law firm. Both the founders had outstanding academic records and focused on their deep understanding of the law to form the foundation of the firm.
Integrity, Knowledge and Passion are the principles that resonate with every member of our LKS family and the work that we do. These values drive us to build a community of legally sound professionals and well-serviced clients.
Everything we have accomplished over the last four decades is a result of our unique way of thinking which is deeply influenced by our core values and principles that define us.
We and our professionals consistently garner appreciation for the quality of our services and the depth of our legal expertise. This consistent acknowledgment serves as a testament to our unwavering commitment to exceed expectations.
We stay up-to-date and periodically share insightful commentary and analysis on the legal issues shaping businesses, both domestically and globally. Our opinionised articles offer fresh perspective on current burning issues, thus keeping you ahead of the curve.
With the advent of The Companies Act, 2013 (‘Companies Act’), the corporates were casted with the mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) obligation. Section 135 of the Companies Act provides that every company meeting a stipulated threshold shall spend at least 2% of the average net profits earned during the three immediately preceding financial years, towards CSR activities.
The retirement of partners from the partnership firms is a universal phenomenon. Further, it is not an aberrant practice for partnership firms to distribute assets to its partners at the time of retirement. However, with issues cropping up in the GST law, such distribution of assets to the retiring partners is an area of concern.
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) in its order dated 23.08.2021 penalized Maruti Suzuki India Limited (“Maruti”) with a fine of INR 200 crore for its Discount Control Policy (“DCP”). The DCP restricted the amount of discount a Maruti dealer could offer to its customers. Maruti also required the dealers to seek prior approval if they wanted to offer discounts (cash and non-cash) beyond the prescribed limits.
In the case of Ferid Allani v. Union of India and Ors., the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (‘IPAB’) set aside the refusal order of the Indian Patent Office (‘IPO’) and allowed the appellant’s patent application.
Banks regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on 27 August 2021, issued the Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (‘MD PPI’) to introduce significant changes to the existing legal regime pertaining to the prepaid instruments (PPI) viz., under the Master Directions on Issuance and Operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments (‘2017 MD’).
The scope and ambit of ‘goods’ has always been a contentious issue from a taxation perspective. Tax policies in India have witnessed an evolution of diverse taxes levied on the acts of production, manufacture, sale, lease and transfer of ‘goods’. Thus, situations where one has had to contend with the question of whether an article qualifies as ‘goods’ has been rather frequent.
In January 2012, the Supreme Court of India gave relief to foreign investors through its landmark decision in Vodafone International Holdings BV v. Union of India (‘Vodafone case’). However, in a matter of months, the ratio laid down by the Supreme Court was rendered infructuous by way of amendments to the Income-tax Act (‘IT Act’), which were given retrospective effect from 1962.
The Designated Authority through anti-dumping investigation and vide Final Findings Notification dated 8 December 2017, had recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty (‘ADD’) on imports of Ceramic tableware and kitchenware, excluding knives and toilet items (‘subject goods’) originating in or exported from China PR.
The article discusses the increasing tread among companies and individuals to go for unconventional or non-traditional trademarks. The authors note that while colour, sound, shape of goods, smell, motion, taste, touch/texture, and hologram marks are recognized in foreign jurisdictions, the Indian Trade Marks law recognizes only colour, shape of goods and sound marks as registrable marks, as there is a requirement of graphically representation in a paper form.
The Central Government recently notified the much-awaited Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products Scheme (‘RoDTEP Scheme’) with retrospective effect i.e., for exports from 1 January 2021, with certain exclusions. The article explores the answer to the question as to whether imposition of budgetary limit imposed by the government would allow the scheme to achieve its objective of refunding the duties and taxes which are not refunded/remitted/credited under any other schemes.
The DTAAs , as per ‘Article 1 – Personal Scope’, applies to those persons who are residents of either of the two country. Article 4 of the DTAA defines the term ‘resident of a contracting state’. Article 4(1) of the OECD Model Convention of 2017 inter-alia provides that the term ‘resident of a contracting state’ means any person under the laws of that state, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criteria of similar nature.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (‘MSMEs’) are considered as the engine of economic growth. With the object of facilitating promotion, development and enhancing the competitiveness of MSMEs, the Indian Parliament enacted The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act (‘Act’) in 2006. One of the key provisions of the Act is that it provides a forum and mechanism for speedy recovery of delayed payments to micro and small enterprises.
Plastic has numerous uses and its physical and chemical properties lead to economic success. However, our relationship with plastic is complicated, as the use of plastic impedes such commercial success in the long run, in terms of impacting the environment. The social advantages of plastic are irrefutable, it has come to occupy a central position in our day-to-day lives. However, the unsystematic removal of plastic has become a significant danger to the environment.
The defining feature of any trade remedial investigation is the product under consideration (‘PUC’). The PUC is not just the starting point of a trade remedial investigation but also the heart of it. In fact, when an application for initiation of an original investigation or even a review investigation is to be filed, the first aspect that needs to be clarified to the investigating authority is the scope of PUC. Therefore, the definition of PUC is of extreme importance.
Taxes are commonly categorized as ‘direct taxes’ and ‘indirect taxes’ due to the economic theory that indirect taxes are ultimately borne by the consumer despite being charged on the supplier. Simply put, the burden of an indirect tax can be shifted onto another and from this facet, the nomenclature ‘indirect tax’ is derived.
