infrastructure and energy quarterly july 2014

Fff

i.e. Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly

Vollume III: Issue I

July, 2014

|| Mumbai || New Delhi || Pune ||

i.e.

Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly

DSK Legal, Advocates & Solicitors 2

About DSK Legal

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Foreword

We take pleasure in bringing you this edition of i.e. -

Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly.

The new financial year 2014-15, till now, has been

eventful. The new Government after getting a clear

electoral mandate has already expressed its firm

commitment and focus towards the infrastructure and

energy sector in the Union Budget including Rail Budget

presented by it earlier this month.

In its endeavor to streamline and give a new direction to

the entire sector, the new Government has announced

several new projects and has proposed changes in the

prevalent policy frameworks to bring clarity. In this issue,

we have highlighted the budgetary proposals of the new

Government for the infrastructure and energy sector in the

light of the key changes proposed, new projects

announced and the opportunities opened up for the

private players.

The much needed single window environment clearance

process has also been implemented from June this year.

In this issue, we have briefly discussed about the single

window online portal for environment clearances.

The judgment of the Honble Supreme Court of India in

the matter of Kone Elevators India Private Limited v. State

of Tamil Nadu & Ors. delivered during this quarter will be

a landmark judgment with respect to taxation on

composite on-shore EPC contracts. In this issue, we have

briefly reviewed the judgment in light of the tax

implications.

Additionally, we have also highlighted the key regulatory

and policy changes brought about in the sector.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of i.e. and we

would be glad to receive your comments and feedback on

the same at the following e-mail ids:

[email protected]; or

[email protected].

Infrastructure and Project Finance Team

DSK Legal

Contents

ARTICLE

BUDGET 2014-15: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENTS BUDGETARY PROPOSAL FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY SECTOR 4

SHORT NOTES

SINGLE WINDOW ONLINE PORTAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE 11

TAXATION ON COMPOSITE CONTRACTS FOR ONSHORE SUPPLY AND SERVICES 13

OTHER REGULATORY UPDATES

15

Image Source: Cover photo and Images on Pages 4, 11 and 13: Wikimedia Commons

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Budget 2014-15: Highlights of the New

Governments Budgetary Proposal for

the Infrastructure and Energy Sector

Highlights of the key changes proposed, the new projects announced and

the major opportunities opened up for the private players in the Union

Budget 2014-15 presented by the Union Finance Minister

Infrastructure Energy sector has suffered

greatly in the recent past on account of

lackluster approvals and clearances

process; disputes and several other

reasons. However, this sector has been

given the deserved impetus in the Union

Budget 2014-15 (Budget).

The new Governments firm emphasis and

focus on the sector can be evidenced not

only from the Governments large fund

allocations for the sector, but also from the

Finance Ministers commitment for creating

better policy framework for execution of

projects. In the Budget, the Government

has allocated a substantial part of the

planned expenditures for the infrastructure

and the energy sector and has announced

several new projects, while staying

committed to the overall growth of the

sector. Additionally, the Government has

also freed-up enough opportunities for

private players both domestic and

international.

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In this article, we have highlighted the key

changes, the new projects announced and

the major opportunities opened up for the

private players in the infrastructure sector

in the first part and in the energy sector in

the second part.

I. INFRASTRUCTURE

This Government has a major focus of

providing good infrastructure, including

public transport

Mr. Arun Jaitley, Union Budget 2014-15.

The growth of the infrastructure sector has

a significant role in the economic

development of any nation. The pro-

development Budget reflects the new

Governments strong commitment towards

the growth of infrastructure.

In this article, we have divided the

infrastructure sector into (a) Transport

Infrastructure; (b) Commercial and

Residential Infrastructure; (c) Social

Infrastructure; and (d) Infrastructure

Funds,or analysis.

Table depicting the new infrastructure related proposals and projects announced in the Budget.

A. Transport Infrastructure

a. Road Transport

The Government has given the necessary

boost to the ambitious Amritsar Kolkata

Industrial Corridor and Bengaluru

Mumbai Economic Corridor projects by

committing to complete the master

planning and perspective planning,

respectively, expeditiously. The

Government has also announced that the

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National Industrial Corridor Authority will

be set up with its headquarters in Pune to

coordinate the development of industrial

corridor projects and the transport and

cities linked therewith.

While planning for the new age industrial

corridors, the Government has also

demonstrated its firm commitment towards

the national and state highways. During

2014-2015, 8,500 km of national highways

are expected to be completed and Rs.

37,880 Crore has been allocated for the

National Highways Authority of India and

for the development of the state roads, out

of which Rs. 3,000 Crore will be reserved

for the development of the roads in the

North East. The Government has also

committed to initiate work for expressways

in select routes to ease road transport.

The Budget also allocated Rs. 14,389 Crore

for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak

Yojana,.

b. Metrorail Transport

Metrorail has gained significance in India

and to further boost this sector, the new

Government has encouraged development

of new metrorail systems, including light

rail systems, through the PPP mode and

has committed to support such projects

through Viability Gap Funding (VGF).

The Government has also allocated Rs. 100

Crore for the development of the

Ahmedabad and the Lucknow Metro

projects.

c. Water Transport

Indias long shoreline opens up great

opportunities for Indias port business, and

to tap this, the Government has proposed

to award 16 new port projects this year

with a focus on port connectivity. Further,

to take off some load from the busy

Vishakapattanam and Chennai Port, the

Government has proposed to develop the

Kakinada Port as a key driver of economic

growth in the region.

Along with the ports, in an endeavor to

also boost the domestic shipbuilding

industry, the Government has committed to

notify a comprehensive policy during this

fiscal year which will promote the domestic

shipbuilding industry.

In order to promote inland water

navigation, the Government has proposed

to launch the Jal Marg Vikas Project under

which the first National Waterway in India

will be developed, from Allahabad to

Haldia, covering a total distance of 1,620

km. The successful completion of this

project will enable commercial navigation

of vessels up to 1,500 tonnes in weight.

The project is proposed to be completed in

6 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200

Crore.

d. Air Transport

Air transport, in India is still more bent

towards the metro cities, and in the

Governments endeavor to boost the air

transport industry in the other areas of the

nation, it has proposed to launch a scheme

for development of new airports in Tier I

and Tier II cities either through the Airport

Authority of India or through PPP.

B. Commercial and Residential

Infrastructure

a. Smart Cities

The new Government has proposed very

ambitious and new-age project of

developing 100 Smart Cities, claiming it to

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be the cornerstone of the Indias growth

strategy. With a budget allocation of Rs.

7,060 Crore in the current fiscal, the smart

cities are proposed to be developed as

satellite towns of larger cities.

To encourage foreign investment for

developing the smart cities, the regulatory

requirement of the built up area and capital

conditions for FDI has also been proposed

to be reduced from 50,000 square metres

to 20,000 square metres and from US$ 10

Million to US$ 5 Million, respectively, with a

compulsory lock in of 3 years post

completion.

b. Special Economic Zones

Developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

has been a successful way of driving

growth of Indias manufacturing sector and

the Budget reflects the new Governments

commitment towards reviving the SEZs.

The Government has announced that

effective steps will be taken to

operationalize the SEZs, and to revive

investors interest in developing better

infrastructure for the SEZs. Further, the

Government has also committed to develop

2 new SEZs, one each at Kandla in Gujarat

and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in

Mumbai.

C. Social Infrastructure

a. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban

Mission

The rurban model of development is

designed to bring in urbanization in the

rural areas. It is a development model

through which the rural population can

enjoy efficient and modern civic

infrastructures and associated services in

the rural areas.

Based on the success of similar model in

Gujarat, the Shyama Prasad Mukherji

Rurban Mission has been proposed to be

launched to deliver integrated project

based infrastructure in Indias rural areas.

The preferred mode of implementation of

the projects will through the PPP route.

Considering majority of India is still

covered by rural areas and there is great

scope of developing these regions, this

ambitious project of the new Government

can become a key driver of Indias growth

strategy, if the projects are implemented

properly.

b. Pooled Municipal Debt Obligation

Facility

The total corpus of the Pooled Municipal

Debt Obligation Facility, started in 2006

with participation of various banks to

promote and finance infrastructure projects

in urban areas on shared risk basis, has

been duly raised from Rs. 5,000 Crore to

Rs. 50,000 Crore by the new Government

in the Budget. The New Government has

also extended the Facility up to March 31,

2019.

c. River Linking Project

Another ambitious project of the new

Government is the river linking project. In

India, the perennial rivers are not uniformly

spread throughout the geography of the

nation, and therefore not all areas get

water uniformly throughout the year,

leading to draught in certain areas.

In order to overcome this hurdle, the

Government has envisaged the river linking

project and has allocated Rs. 100 Crore for

the preparation of the Detailed Project

Reports for the project.

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D. Infrastructure Funds

The Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs),

governed by the Securities and Exchange

Board of India (SEBI), has been a

successful instrument for pooling

investments. To further incentivize the

investors the new Government has

proposed to give the REITs a pass through

feature for the purpose of taxation.

SEBI had issued a consultation paper on

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)

on December 20, 2013 proposing the new

avenue for infrastructure financing. We had

analyzed the structure of InvITs in the

January 2014 edition of IE [Vollume II,

Issue II]. For our overview of the InvITs

please click here.

The new Government has finally

announced InvITs, the REITs type

structure for PPP and other infrastructural

projects, and has decided to accord it the

tax efficient pass through status.

II. ENERGY

Energy not only plays a significant role in

maintaining the countrys foreign exchange

balance thereby effecting the economic

development, but also plays a significant

role in boosting the domestic industrial

growth. We have divided the energy sector

into (a) Power; (b) Petroleum and Gas; and

(c) Mining, for our analysis.

A. Power

a. Non Renewable Power

The Government, has proposed several

steps in the Budget in order to curtail the

power crisis in India and to augment the

growth in the sector. Key amongst such

steps is the proposal to set up the Ultra-

Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal

Power Technology Scheme in order to

promote cleaner and more efficient thermal

power in India.

The Government has allocated an initial

sum of Rs. 100 Crore for preparatory work

for this new scheme.

In order to reflect the stability in the power

sector in India to the prospective investors,

the Government has announced the grant

of 10 years income tax holiday to the

undertakings which begin generation,

distribution and transmission of power by

March 31, 2017.

The Government has also proposed to

launch the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram

Jyoti Yojana, envisaged to provide 24x7

uninterrupted power supply to all Indian

homes.

As a part of the scheme, feeder separation

will be launched for augmenting power

supply and to strengthen sub-transmission

and distribution the rural areas. A total of

Rs. 500 Crore has been allocated for the

scheme.

Additionally, the new Government has also

committed to resolve the issues affecting

the coal linkages.

b. Renewable Power

In the renewable power space, the key

development, amongst others, is the

Governments commitment to accelerate

the implementation of the Green Energy

Corridor Project which will facilitate

evacuation of renewable energy across the

country.

In order to tap the immense potential of

solar power generation in India, the new

i.e.



Government has proposed to develop Ultra

Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan,

Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and the Ladakh

region of Jammu and Kashmir and has

allocated Rs. 500 Crore for the purpose.

Further, setting up of 1 MW Solar Parks on

the canal banks at various locations has

been proposed at a cost of Rs. 100 Crore.

The Government has also enlarged the

scope of the existing custom and excise

duty concessions and benefits granted for

setting up solar power projects in India in

order to incentivize the solar power

developers.

Similarly, to promote wind energy

generation, the Government has reduced

the basic customs duty from 10% to 5%,

and has exempted excise duty on forged

steel rings used in the manufacture of

bearings of wind operated electricity

generators and has also exempted the 4%

SAD on parts and raw materials used for

the manufacture of wind operated

generators.

The new Government has also proposed to

prescribe a concessional basic customs

duty of 5% and exempt excise duty, on

machinery and equipment required for

setting up compressed biogas plants (Bio-

CNG).

Table depicting the energy sector related proposals and projects announced in the Budget.

B. Petroleum and Gas

The proposals for the troubled petro-gas

sector are limited to the Governments

commitment for accelerating the

production and exploitation of Coal Bed

Methane reserves, and its plan to add

15,000 km of gas-pipelines to the existing

15,000 km through the PPP route in order

to complete the gas grid across India.

C. Mining

The new Government has not only

encouraged investments in the mining

sector, but it has also committed to

promote sustainable mining practices in

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order to meet domestic requirements

without negatively affecting the

environment.

Further, the Government has also

committed to resolve the existing

bottlenecks in mining sector, including the

issues relating to iron ore mining in certain

states, and has proposed to amend the

Mines and Mineral (Regulation and

Development) Act, 1957 if required.

Conclusion

The new Government has already set the

ball in motion for developing the countrys

infrastructure and has strongly expressed

its commitment and focus towards the

sector. The changes proposed and the new

projects announced in the Budget have

immense potential to boost the nations

economic development.

As always, actions speak louder than words

and one hopes, all the Budget

announcements do not remain mere

rhetoric.

Authors

Ajay Shaw, Partner

DSK Legal

Mumbai Office

[email protected]

And

Anirban Roy Choudhury, Associate

DSK Legal

Mumbai Office

[email protected]

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Single Window Online Portal for

Environmental Clearance

A brief overview of the ambitious single window online portal for

submission of environmental clearance proposals which has been finally

implemented in June 2014

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change on the occasion of World

Environment Day on June 5, 2014

announced the implementation of the

online single window portal for submission

of applications for environmental

clearances with effect from June 5, 2014.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change clarified that during the

transition period from June 5, 2014 up to

June 30, 2014 the Ministry of Environment,

Forest and Climate Change would accept

proposals for environmental clearances in

either physical copy mode or online mode

but however, from July 1, 2014 onwards

the proposals for environment clearances

will compulsorily have to be made in online

mode.

This step is not only an indication of

promotion of transparency in governance

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and better functioning of the Ministry of

Environment, Forest and Climate Change,

but also serves as the long demanded

single window clearance point for

environmental clearances, approvals and

permits.

At a point of time when several projects in

India are struck for lack of environmental

clearances wich pose as one of the key

hurdle in any infrastructure project, the

implementation of the single window online

portal for environmental clearances will not

only be a boon for the project developers

but will also attract the investors and

lenders.

As per an Office Memorandum of the

Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change dated June 6, 2014, under

this online submission mechanism the

following process will apply:

(i) Upon successful submission an

acknowledgment slip will

automatically be e-mailed to the

Project Proponent and the Member

Secretary of the concerned Expert

Appraisal Committee.

(ii) The TOR and the application for

environment clearances will have to

be examined within five days and

fifteen days respectively by the

Member Secretary of the concerned

Expert Appraisal Committee.

(iii) Upon successful admission of the

proposal, an acceptance letter will be

sent to the Project Proponent

informing that its proposal will be

appraised by the Expert Appraisal

Committee.

(iv) Upon the submission of hard copies

of all requisite documents the Expert

Appraisal Committee will be required

to process the proposals and make

its decision within the time frame

stipulated under the Environmental

Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification

2006. If this ambitious online portal is effectively

implemented it will not only make the

process of obtaining environmental

clearances for the infrastructure projects

much easier and less time consuming for

the project developers, it will also boost the

faith of the project financers and investors.

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Taxation on Composite Contracts for

Onshore Supply and Services

A Brief Overview of the Judgment of the Honble Supreme Court of India in

the matter of Kone Elevator India Private Limited v. State of Tamil Nadu

and Others

The primary intention behind split onshore

contracts in any EPC arrangement is to

keep the onshore supply component

distinct and separate from the onshore

services component.

As a practice, domestic EPC arrangements

are generally split in this manner since

under Indian tax laws, if the domestic EPC

arrangement is by way of a composite EPC

contract then the it poses risk of incidence

of both value added tax and service tax on

the entire consideration of the composite

EPC contract for domestic supply and

services.

With respect to the onshore supply and

service components of the EPC

arrangement, as long as the onshore

supply and service component of the EPC

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arrangement is being provided by a

resident Indian company, the income from

such onshore supply and services will be

subject to income tax in India.

The position with respect to the value

added tax and service tax on the supply

component and the service component of

the EPC arrangement respectively was not

clear and EPC contractors preferred

domestic EPC arrangements split to keep

the supply component distinct and separate

from the services component.

However, the recent judgment passed by

the five judge constitutional bench of the

Honble Supreme Court of India on May 6,

2014 in the matter of Kone Elevator India

Private Limited v. State of Tamil Nadu and

Others [WP (C) No. 232 of 2005] (Kone

Elevators Case) substantially clarified and

gave a finality to the position to be taken

regarding such domestic EPC

arrangements.

The five judge constitutional bench

comprising of the Chief Justice of India

Honble Justice R. M. Lodha, A. K. Patnaik,

Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, Dipak

Misra and F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla,

JJoverruled Honble Supreme Court of

India's earlier decision taken in the earlier

matter of Kone Elevators.

The judgment in the Kone Elevators Case

authored by Justice Dipak Misra ruled that

the arrangement for the sale and

installation of a lift car is a works contract

and not just a contract for sale.

The judgment clarified that the

arrangement for the sale and installation of

a lift car is a works contract and not a

contract for sale of goods, therefore the

entire consideration for the arrangement

will not attract value added tax, the labour

and other costs in installing the lift (the

consideration for the service component)

will have to be deducted from the entire

consideration and only the actual cost of

the lift itself will attract value added tax.

This landmark Supreme Court judgment

not only gave finality to a much litigated

issue but also will benefit the industry

significantly. Earlier the position was not

clear and often value added tax claims

were raised by the revenue department on

the entire consideration of the contract for

the sale and installation of lifts without

allowing any deduction on account of the

service component involved on which

service tax had already been paid. The

judgment has huge financial ramifications

as now, the position has been clarified as

above.

The 219 page judgment delivered by the

five judge constitutional bench of the

Honble Supreme Court of India gave

finality to a much litigated issue and this

judgment will also act as a precedent in

case of other composite EPC contracts

involving onshore supply and services.

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OTHER REGULATORY UPDATES

THE MODEL TRIPARTITE

AGREEMENT FOR TAKE-OUT

FINANCING OF PUBLIC PRIVATE

PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN THE

PORTS SECTOR GETS APPROVED

The Empowered Inter-Ministerial Group

constituted by the Cabinet Committee on

Infrastructure has approved the Model

Tripartite Agreement for take-out financing

of Public Private Partnership projects in the

Ports Sector on April 10, 2014 and the said

approved Model Tripartite Agreement was

notified by the Department of Economic

Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of

India vide its office memorandum dated

April 30, 2014.

NHAI BRINGS TRANSPARENCY TO

PPP PROJECTS BY IMPLEMENTING A

DATABASE OF INFORMATION

RELATING TO PROJECTS

The National Highway Authority of India

(NHAI) has decided to publish all private

public partnership (PPP) project related

information on its website www.nhai.org.in.

NHAI has decided to implement and

maintain a database where all relevant

information relating to all specific projects

can be obtained by typing the name of the

particular project.

Information pertaining to all stages of the

development of the project, like

construction, operation and maintenance,

will be available from the database.

Information and details pertaining to the

concessionaire, independent engineer and

safety consultant will also be available from

the database including a copy of the

Concession Agreement between NHAI and

the concessionaire and between NHAI and

Independent Engineer/ Safety Consultants.

Further, NHAI had previously decided that

every project must host a website for that

specific project. Whereas most project

specific websites have already been

launched, the remaining are aimed to be

launched by July 15, 2014.

SUPREME COURT OF INDIAS BAN

ON GOAN IRON ORE PARTLY LIFTED

On October 5, 2012, the Honble Supreme

Court of India vide its order banned mining

and transportation of iron ore from Goa in

order to clamp down on illegal mining in

the state of Goa.

However, early this year the Honble

Supreme Court of India decided to ease the

ban and allow sale of the iron ore which

has already been mined while continuing

the ban on further extraction of iron ore.

Thereafter, iron ore handling has

commenced at the Mormugao Port.

MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT,

HIGHWAYS AND SHIPPING DECIDES

TO UNDERTAKE FUTURE HIGHWAY

PROJECTS THROUGH THE EPC MODE

In a press release dated June 24, 2014 the

Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and

Shipping has informed that it is considering

undertaking future highway projects under

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the engineering, procurement and

construction (EPC) route instead of through

the public private partnership (PPP) route.

The Ministry of Road Transport, Highways

and Shipping further informed that over

260 projects worth around Rs. 60,000

Crore which were implemented through the

PPP route are currently stalled on account

of various grounds and therefore the

Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and

Shipping has decided to take up such

highway projects through the EPC route

wherein they can hold the EPC contractor

responsible in case the highway project is

not successfully implemented within the

stipulated timeframes.

THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

ISSUES REVISED GUIDELINES ON

ECBS

The Reserve Bank of India, has vide its

Master Circular on External Commercial

Borrowings and Trade Credits (revised ECB

Guidelines) revised the existing guidelines

on external commercial borrowings. The

revised ECB Guidelines has expanded the

scope of ECBs by not only modifying who

can borrow and who can lend but also the

very purpose for which ECB can be raised.

In an endeavor to give the necessary

impetus to the infrastructure sector in

India, the RBI has made several changes in

the revised ECB Guidelines. The RBI has

widened the definition of Infrastructure

Sector in the revised ECB Guidelnes to

make the ECB route effective for financing

of infrastructure. Further, the RBI has now

permitted NBFC-Infrastructure Finance

Companies (NBFC-IFCs) to avail the ECB

route for lending to the infrastructure

sector. The RBI has also permitted NBFC-

Asset Finance Companies (NBFC-AFCs) to

make use of the ECB route for financing

the import of infrastructure equipment for

leasing to infrastructure projects.

Further, Holding Companies/Core

Investment Companies will now be

permitted to avail the ECB funding (under

the approval route) for raising funds for

their Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)

engaged in the infrastructure sector in

India.

EXCISE AND CUSTOM DUTY

BENEFITS FOR SOLAR POWER,

WIND POWER AND BIO-GAS POWER

PROJECT DEVELOPERS

The Government, in order to give the much

needed boost to the infrastructure and

energy, has notified various custom duty

and excise benefits for the project

developers in the Solar, Wind and Bio-Gas

power sector, in addition to the existing

concessions and exemptions. This move

will further incentivize the renewable power

project developers


ISSUES REVISED GUIDELINES FOR

ISSUE OF LONG TERM BONDS BY

BANKS FOR FINANCING OF

INFRASTRUCTURE

Pursuant to the Union Budget 2014-15, the

Reserve Bank of India has on July 15,

2014, issued a revised guidelines for issue

of long term bonds by banks for financing

of infrastructure and affordable housing

(addressing the liability side of the banks

balance sheets, raising long term funds for

lending to key structures.

In an endeavor to ensure adequate credit

flow to the infrastructure sector, the

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Reserve Bank of India has revised the

existing policy on issue of long term bonds

for the infrastructure sector.

As per the revised guidelines, the bonds

will be fully paid, redeemable and

unsecured and would rank pari-passu along

with other uninsured and/or unsecured

creditors with a minimum maturity period

of 7 years. Additionally, the revised

guidelines have put in polace several

relaxations and new norms in order to

boost the infrastructure sector.


ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR FLEXIBLE

STRUCTURING OF LONG TERM

LOANS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE

PROJECTS

Pursuant to the Union Budget and in order

to remove the existing bottlenecks in

project financing, the Reserve Bank has

issued a Circular dated July 15, 2014 to

notify guidelines for flexible structuring

long term loans for the infrastructure

sector.

RBI has clarified that it does not have any

objection in banks financing/refinancing of

long term projects in the infrastructure

sector. However, the RBI has further

clarified that only term loans to

infrastructure projects, as defined under

the Harmonized Master List of

Infrastructure of RBI, and projects in core

industry sector, included in the Index of

Eight Core Industries (base: 2004-05)

published by the Ministry of Commerce and

Industry, Government of India, (viz., coal,

crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery

products, fertilizers, steel, cement and

electricity) will qualify for such refinancing.

In addition to this, the RBI has set out

further conditions and stipulations in the

Circular in connection with this.

INCOME TAX HOLIDAY FOR POWER

GENERATORS

The new Government has proposed to

extend the income tax holiday of 10 years

under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act,

1961 till March 31, 2017 i.e. the new

undertakings which will begin power

generation before March 31, 2017 can

claim such exemptions. At present it can be

claimed only by undertakings which begin

to generate power before March 31, 2014.

Awards and Recognitions

Chambers & Partners Rankings 2013 & 2014

Asia Law 2014

Best Law Firm of the Year (Mumbai) 2012-2013

Project Finance Lawyer of the Year 2012-2013

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